As Canada braces for 25 per cent U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, U.S. President Donald Trump says he is considering an additional tariff on Canadian-made cars, which could be as high as 50 to 100 per cent.
In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Trump said Canada “stole” the automobile industry from the United States.
“If you look at Canada, Canada has a very big car industry. They stole it from us. They stole it because our people were asleep at the wheel,” Trump said.
He added, “If we don’t make a deal with Canada, we’re going to put a big tariff on cars. Could be a 50 or 100 per cent because we don’t want their cars. We want to make the cars in Detroit.”
The automobile manufacturing sector and its supply chain in Canada and the United States have been deeply integrated since the 1960s.
In 1965, former prime minister Lester B. Pearson and former U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Canada–United States Automotive Products Agreement, commonly known as the Auto Pact.
Get breaking National news
The agreement removed tariffs on cars and car parts between the two countries.
This was in effect until 1994, when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, extending free trade to all sectors, not just car manufacturing.
In 2018, NAFTA was replaced by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which is up for re-negotiation in 2026.
Trump on Monday signed a pair of presidential proclamations imposing 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum, with no exceptions or exemptions.
“It’s a big deal. This is the beginning of making America rich again,” Trump said as he signed the orders in the Oval Office.
The Trump administration said the move was meant to shore up the U.S. steel and aluminum industries and to protect America’s economic and national security.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa will work to convince Trump that his steel and aluminum tariffs will hurt both countries.
A senior government source told Global News on Tuesday that Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc is heading to Washington, D.C. later in the day and will meet with Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick to run the U.S. Commerce Department, on Wednesday.
With a file from The Canadian Press and Global’s Bryan Mullan.
