Canada’s initial retaliatory tariffs against the US will remain in place for now despite President Donald Trump postponing 25% tariffs on many imports from Canada for a month, a senior Canadian government official said.
Mr Trump said on Thursday that he has postponed 25% tariffs on many goods from Canada and Mexico for a month, amid widespread fears of a broader trade war.
A senior Canadian government official confirmed Canada’s response tariffs will remain for now.
Canada’s initial retaliatory tariffs have been applied on items such as American orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products.
Ontario premier Doug Ford, the leader of Canada’s most populous province, also said on Thursday that, starting on Monday, the province will charge 25% more for electricity shipped to 1.5 million Americans in response to Mr Trump’s tariff plan. Ontario provides electricity to Minnesota, New York and Michigan.
Donald Trump said he has postponed 25% tariffs on many goods from Canada and Mexico for a month (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP)
Mr Ford said Ontario’s tariff would remain in place despite the one-month reprieve from the Americans. Mr Ford said on Wednesday that so long as the threat of tariffs continue, Ontario’s position would remain the same.
“This whole thing with President Trump is a mess,” Mr Ford said. “This reprieve, we went down this road before. He still threatens the tariffs on April 2.”
British Columbia premier David Eby also said his province will introduce legislation in the coming days that would give it the ability to levy fees on commercial lorries travelling from the United States through the province to Alaska. He said Canadians will not let up until the tariffs are taken off the table.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier on Thursday that he expects Canada and the US to be in a trade war for the foreseeable future after having what he called a colourful but constructive call with Mr Trump on Tuesday.
Imports from Mexico that comply with the 2020 USMCA trade pact would be excluded from the 25% tariffs for a month, according to the orders signed by Mr Trump.
Imports from Canada that comply with the trade deal would also avoid the 25% tariffs for a month, while the potash that US farmers import from Canada would be tariffed at 10%, the same rate at which Mr Trump wants to tariff Canadian energy products.
Roughly 62% of imports from Canada would likely still face the new tariffs because they are not USMCA compliant, according to a White House official. Half of imports from Mexico that are not USCMA compliant would also be taxed under the orders being signed by Mr Trump, the official said.
Mr Trump launched a new trade war on Tuesday by imposing tariffs against Washington’s three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China and sending financial markets into a tailspin.
A day after the new tariffs took effect, Mr Trump had said he would grant a one-month exemption for US carmakers.
The announcement came after Mr Trump spoke on Wednesday with leaders of Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler and Jeep. His press secretary said Mr Trump told the chief executives to move car production to the US to avoid tariffs.