Canada announced 25% tariffs on more than $20 billion worth of U.S. goods Wednesday after President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum duties took effect overnight.
Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said at a news conference that the new tariffs on steel, aluminum and other U.S. goods will take effect Thursday.
The latest salvo in the trade spat between the two countries comes amid several months of threats and counter-threats between leaders of both nations.
Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum apply to all metal imports, not just those from Canada. After Trump’s metal tariffs were enacted Wednesday morning, the European Union announced it would impose its own tariffs on more than $28 billion worth of U.S. goods starting in April.
Trump has promised that his tariffs would shift the tax burden away from Americans and onto foreign countries, but tariffs are paid by the people who import the products. Those importers then have a choice: They can either absorb the loss or pass it on to consumers through higher prices. Trump also promised tariffs would make America “rich as hell.” And he’s used tariffs as a negotiating tactic to tighten border security.
Trump granted temporary tariff relief to Canada and Mexico last week by exempting goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement from tariffs until April 2.
On April 2, Trump plans to announce broader reciprocal tariffs against countries that impose tariffs on U.S. goods or keep U.S. goods out of their markets through other methods.
