U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on his original order to institute 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, launching tariffs on goods from both countries on 4 March after a one-month pause.
In addition to the 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Trump also instituted an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods on top of the 10 percent he announced in February, meaning certain goods from China are now subject to a 45 percent import tariff.
The new tariffs will impact roughly USD 5.6 billion (EUR 5.3 billion) in seafood imports from the three countries.
Trump said the tariffs on Mexico and Canada are related to the “major threat of illegal aliens and deadly drugs killing our Citizens, including fentanyl,” when he announced them in early February. He has also made comments about an unfair trade relationship with Canada. Canada is currently trading with the U.S. under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced the existing North American Free Trade Agreement in 2018 after Trump negotiated the new deal.
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as the premiers of certain Canadian provinces, immediately promised a retaliatory response to the tariffs. Certain provinces have already stopped buying U.S. products – with Canadian government-controlled retailers halting all purchases of U.S. alcohol and Ontario’s LCBO planning to halt them soon, the CBC reported.
During a press conference on 4 March, Trudeau said there is no justification for the trade war.
“Today, the U.S. launched a trade war against Canada – their closest partner and ally, their closest friend,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau said it was difficult to determine a reason for the tariffs, especially given comments from Trump.
“I think what President Trump said yesterday, that there is nothing Canada or Mexico could do to avoid these tariffs, underlines very clearly what a lot of us have suspected for a long time: These tariffs are not specifically about fentanyl, even though that is the legal justification he must use,” he told the CBC.
He also speculated it was a hostile action by Trump made in an attempt to destabilize Canada’s economy.
“What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that’ll make it easier to annex us,” Trudeau said. “First of all, that’s never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state.”
The Canadian government hit back and ...
