Photo credit: Calgary Herald
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said US President Donald Trump’s new 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, including from Canada., are “entirely unjustified,” and “unacceptable.”
CTV News reports that while speaking to reporters in Paris, Trudeau said that the federal government will be working with the US administration in the lead-up to the tariffs coming into effect, to highlight their negative impact, but “if it comes to that, our response of course will be firm and clear.”
“We will stand up for Canadian workers. We will stand up for Canadian industries,” he said.
Trump had on Monday, while citing the impacts of global overcapacity on the American domestic market, signed an executive order removing the exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on steel, and increased his 10 per cent 2018 aluminium tariffs.
Trump said: “These actions are necessary and appropriate to remove the threatened impairment of the national security of the United States.”
Disagreeing with that position, Trudeau pointed to “how deeply integrated the Canadian and US markets are, from defence and shipbuilding to automotive manufacturing. “Together we make North America more competitive,” he said.
Trudeau stopped short of committing to a dollar-for-dollar response as he was ready to do on Trump’s now-paused import tariffs, but Canada did retaliate back in 2018 when similar measures were imposed during the NAFTA renegotiations, before receiving an exemption.
This trade action comes just over a week after the US and Canada agreed to a pause of at least 30 days on tariffs and reciprocal tariffs on cross-border imports.
During the session, Trudeau spoke with US Vice-President JD Vance and mentioned the impact of steel tariffs in Ohio, according to a senior government official.
The prime minister is in Europe looking to strengthen Canada-EU trade ties in the face of nations on both sides of the Atlantic facing increased economic insecurity and threats from the 47th US president.
