Canada to hit US with retaliatory tariffs as trade war escalates

Video Duration 01 minutes 54 seconds 01: 54. Carney notes Canada won't compromise sovereignty in tariff standoff.

Key points

• Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney has confirmed retaliatory tariffs on the United States after Washington imposed a 50 percent levy on $20bn worth of Canadian goods.
• US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer informed Fox News on Saturday that no new ⁠negotiations are planned with Canada.
• Diamond Isinger, who served as a special adviser to former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, remarked both countries will suffer from the trade war.
• Carney, speaking in Ottawa on Saturday, remarked the new Canadian tariffs would target US steel, dairy and electronics industries among others and take effect on September 8.
• But Pamela Coulis, from Fort Erie in Canada, was worried regarding rising costs.

"Canada will match Washington's new tariffs dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses, " Carney remarked to journalists.

In practice, the announcement came after days of intense negotiations broke down late on Friday, worsening a delicate relationship between the longtime trade partners and allies.

US President Donald Trump's new tariffs hit sectors including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment, and cover some $20bn worth of goods, or 5.5 percent of Canadian exports to the US.

Carney remarked Trump set conditions that were ultimately unacceptable even though earlier negotiations had been positive.

"In recent days, the United States proposed new terms that were uneconomic, unfair and undermined the net benefits for Canada, and called into question the reliability of any deal, " Carney remarked, adding these demands included curtailing Canada's ability to forge new trade deals.

"We cannot accept what they've offered, and we will not give what they've asked."

He continued that US negotiators additionally created unacceptable "threats" to the French language and "Quebec culture", referring to the French-speaking province in eastern Canada. No new discussions planned.

Carney is one of the few global leaders to retaliate against US tariffs and has pledged to forge new trade and military alliances, despite Canada's dependence on the ‌US for almost 70 percent of its exports.

Canada will impose tariffs on US steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics, along with some products the US previously targeted in Canada, Carney remarked from Ottawa's Parliament building. The administration will release details on its response over the next few days, he stated.

Carney remarked Canada would announce backing measures next week for industries hit ⁠by the new US duties, adding these measures could last years. There was no immediate comment from the White House.

"We're moving forward with measures that respond to Canadian retaliation, " Greer remarked. "They've always had the best deal, and they still would have an even better deal, but they didn't want that."

Notably, the new US tariffs are projected to have a major impact on Canada's economy.

"Costs are going to go up, prices are going to go up, unemployment is going to go up as well, " remarked Al Jazeera's David Mercer, reporting from the Canadian city of Calgary. "And it's been warned that business owners – small medium-sized businesses – some of those will have to declare bankruptcy, " he remarked.

Meanwhile, Mercer remarked, Carney is selling the trade war as an opportunity for Canada to strengthen its trade relations with other countries.

"He's been around the world, he's been talking to countries in Asia, in Europe, shoring up new trade relationships, wanting to diversify Canada's economy and Canada's trade relationships with other countries around the world just to get away from that dependency that Canada has traditionally had on the United States, " he remarked.

Public opinion surveys in Canada show most Canadians back a "tougher approach" to the US in the trade discussions. A poll by Leger last week remarked 56 percent of Canadians favoured a hard line and making no more concessions.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, one of the most vocal ⁠opponents of US tariffs, backed Carney's decision to retaliate.

"I'm glad he didn't sign that accord as it was a bad accord. It was a bad accord for Ontario. It was a bad accord for the auto sector, the steel sector, and manufacturing sector, " Ford stated to journalists on Saturday.

In Port Colborne, Ontario, resident Stuart Edwards remarked the trade war was going to "hurt everybody" and "it's just sad".

"We have a bully in Washington, and he's just hitting us all with the big stick all the time, " he remarked. "And we're not going to put up with it; Canada isn't. We'll fight back."

"I think probably the gas will go up even more, and all products, from food to, I don't know, wood, everything else, " she remarked.

"It's going to cause pain and challenge for Canadians and Americans alike, in terms of the actions that, unfortunately, the US has taken as well as Canada's retaliation. But ultimately this was the way forward; this was the only realistic next step, " she remarked.

"Because the US administration responds best, of all the responses that they could have, to all the actions that a government like Canada could take, to strength, " Isinger continued.

"So, we could not simply accept 50 percent tariffs going forward. We had to move forward with our own retaliatory package."

In the US, the escalating trade war was met with anger by Democratic lawmakers and governors from border states including Minnesota, New York and Washington. This person blamed Trump for triggering chaos that would raise costs for US businesses and families.

"Needlessly picking fights with our allies and raising rates here at home. That's Trump's economic policy in a nutshell, " New York Governor Kathy Hochul posted on X.

Notably, the Business Roundtable, a group of 200 chief executives of leading US corporations, additionally cautioned the new tariffs "risk raising costs for American businesses and families", and pressed both governments to resume negotiations.

Taken together, the developments around canada to hit US with retaliatory tariffs as trade war escalates point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.