(Ottawa, 23rd) Canadian Prime Minister Carney has announced that, in retaliation for the 50% tariffs imposed by U.S. President Trump taking effect at midnight, Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs on imports of U.S. steel, electronics, and other products starting from September 8.
According to Reuters, Carney said at a press conference held at Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday (August 22): "To protect Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses, Canada will implement reciprocal measures in equal amount to Washington's new tariffs."
When asked if Canada is involved in a trade war, he responded: "Being attacked means being in a state of war, and we have been attacked."
Carney stated that Canada will impose tariffs on U.S. steel, dairy products, home appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, electronics, as well as some U.S. products that Canada previously imposed tariffs on. He said the government will announce details of these countermeasures in the coming days.
He said: "We cannot accept the terms they (the U.S.) proposed, and we will not meet their demands."
Carney pointed out that last-minute demands from the U.S. government had hindered negotiation progress. The U.S. requirements included restricting Canada's ability to reach new trade agreements. "In recent days, the U.S. has introduced new terms which are neither economic nor fair, harming Canada's net benefits and putting the reliability of any deal in question. In short, they are asking too much and giving too little."
He added that Canada will announce support measures next week for industries affected by the new U.S. tariffs, and these measures may last for several years.
U.S. Trade Representative Greer told Fox News on Saturday that there are currently no plans for new negotiations with Canada. "We are moving ahead with action to respond to Canada's retaliatory measures... They have had the best agreement, and they could still get a better agreement, but they don't want it."
Tariffs on Heavy Vehicles May Be One of the Sticking Points in Negotiations
Under the agreement the two countries are working towards, regular auto tariffs would be reduced from the current 25% to 15%. Three sources have revealed that Canada wanted to extend preferential tariff terms for light vehicles to medium and heavy trucks, but this was opposed by the U.S.
Carney said the U.S. stance would exclude certain models made in Canada, including Ford's F-350, F-450, and F-550 trucks, as well as General Motors' Silverado, which would weaken the competitiveness of Canadian production.
He said the U.S. also raised some demands involving Canadian culture, language, and sovereignty but provided no further details.
Carney, who was elected last year, promised to negotiate tough with Trump, and he remains widely popular. Polls show that a majority of Canadians oppose making any concessions to the U.S.
Opposition Conservative Party leader Poilievre issued a statement saying: "Canadians must unite to defend our country and resist these unfair attacks on our jobs and businesses."
The U.S. and Canada failed to reach agreement on the tariff issue. The U.S. measure to impose a 50% tariff on about 20 billion U.S. dollars (about 25.4 billion Singapore dollars) worth of Canadian goods officially took effect at midnight on Saturday (August 22) (noon Singapore time on Saturday).
Trump's new tariffs affect multiple industries, including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods, and ice hockey equipment. These tariffs do not include Canadian products exempted under the USMCA, which has protected the majority of Canadian exports to the United States over the past 18 months.