Canada to impose 25% tariffs on U.S. goods in response to Trump's tariffs

Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced that his government will impose 25% tariffs on goods from the United States worth $107 billion U.S. dollars starting Tuesday if the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump continues with its tariffs announced hours earlier on Canadian products. In a statement, the leftist leader explained that while he will execute the 25% tariffs on $21.151 billion of U.S. goods this Tuesday, tariffs on the remaining $88 billion will officially go into effect in 21 days.

"Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, and should U.S. tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures," the Canadian prime minister explained in his statement.

Tariffs against Mexico and China

The Canadian government's decision was announced just hours after Trump stated that he ordered his administration to impose tariffs of 25% on all imported products from both Canada and Mexico to the United States, after assuring that time had run out to reach an agreement with Trudeau and the Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum. "There is no more room for Mexico or Canada. The tariffs, you know, are ready. They will go into effect tomorrow," the Republican leader declared at the White House, adding that the levies will be enforced for what he considered an "unacceptable" flow of narcotics.

In addition to the tariffs on Mexico and Canada, Trump also confirmed that his government will impose tariffs of 10% on products coming from China, which is in addition to an additional 10% rate that had already gone into effect last February fourth. The measure would raise tariffs against Chinese products to 20%, representing measures that are in addition to the levies that Trump imposed during his first term on almost $400 billion dollars on products from China and which are still mostly in force.

Canada files WTO complaint

Canada's ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Nadia Theodore, filed a formal complaint over what she considers to be "unjustified tariffs" imposed by the Trump Administration.

"The U.S. decision leaves us with no choice but to respond to protect Canadian interests. Everyone plays their position. I played mine today and on behalf of the Government of Canada, requested WTO consultations with the Government of the United States in regard to its unjustified tariffs on Canada," told Theodore.