Canada slaps US with ‘dollar-for-dollar’ tariffs on $21B worth of steel and aluminum imports
Canada has struck back against the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, announcing retaliatory measures on Wednesday that will impose new levies on $20.6 billion worth of US imported goods.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc declared that the Canadian government is responding with a “dollar-for-dollar” approach, introducing a 25% tariff that is set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday.
“These tariffs will target US steel products worth $8.8 billion, aluminum products worth $2 billion and a range of other imports including computers and sports equipment,” LeBlanc said.
“Together we will do what we must to protect Canada’s economy.”
LeBlanc condemned the Trump administration’s move to place additional tariffs on Canadian imports — which was done to counter Ontario’s decision to add a surcharge to energy exports to three US states.
“The US administration is once again inserting disruption and disorder into an incredibly successful trading partnership and raising the costs of everyday goods for Canadian and American households alike.”
The latest Canadian countermeasures add to the 25% tariffs Ottawa imposed on $30 billion worth of US goods on March 4.
Those initial counter-tariffs were enacted in response to President Donald Trump’s broad-based duties on Canadian imports.
Despite a temporary exemption for certain products issued by Trump on March 6 following a stock market downturn, Canada has chosen to maintain its tariffs.
Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, set at 25%, were not exclusive to Canada but applied to all global imports of the metals.
The European Union wasted no time in responding, announcing its own set of tariffs on more than $28 billion worth of US goods, which will take effect in April.
The president on Wednesday appeared to be digging his heels in for a longer trade battle with the EU.
“The European Union treats us very badly. They have for years,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office while sitting alongside the Irish prime minister, Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
“I had it out with them in my first term. … The European Union has been very tough, and it’s our turn, too. You know, we get a turn at that also, but they have not been fair. They sue our companies and win massive amounts of money.”
Trump said that the EU’s counter-tariffs create “ill will,” adding: “We’re going to be doing reciprocal tariffs. So whatever they charge us, we’re charging them. Nobody can complain about that.”
“Whatever it is, it doesn’t even matter what it is -— if they charge us, if they charge us 25 or 20%, or 10%, or 2%, or 200%, then that’s what we’re charging them. And so I don’t know why people get upset about that because there’s nothing more fair than that.”
On his Truth Social account on Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his intent to annex Canada and absorb it into the US as its 51st state — a notion that Canadians reject out of hand.
“The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State. This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear,” Trump wrote on his social media account.
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly emphasized the broader significance of the trade dispute.
“This is much more than about our economy. It is about the future of our country,” she said at a Wednesday press conference. “Canadians have had enough, and we are a strong country.”
Seeking a diplomatic resolution, a Canadian delegation led by Ontario Premier Doug Ford is scheduled to visit Washington on Thursday for trade discussions with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Ahead of the talks, Ford met with prime minister-designate Mark Carney, who is set to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the coming weeks.
Trump has long championed tariffs as a means of exerting economic leverage, protecting domestic industries, and generating revenue.
However, most economists caution that such measures risk disrupting supply chains, increasing costs for consumers and rattling financial markets.
The president has offered shifting justifications for the trade measures, fueling confusion about why the US is escalating economic tensions with key allies such as Canada and Mexico.
Meanwhile, Trump has intensified his verbal attacks on Canadian leadership, repeatedly floating the idea of Canada becoming the 51st US state — comments that have infuriated many Canadians.
“The only constant in this unjustified and unjustifiable trade war seems to be President Trump’s talks of annexing our country through economic coercion,” Joly said.
Trump reinforced his stance on Tuesday, threatening to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports to 50%.
The move came in response to Ford’s announcement that Ontario would impose a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to three U.S. states as a retaliatory measure.
Trump on Wednesday walked back his threat after Ford indicated he would pause the electricity surcharge plan — signaling a temporary cooling of tensions amid the ongoing trade standoff.
