Canada will meet new 25% U.S. tariffs by adopting its own equivalent tariffs on an initial tranche of U.S. exports in the coming days, with the duties set to broaden significantly later this month. Mexico will also press ahead with its own retaliatory measures.
The Canadian actions will eventually subject C$155 billion of U.S. exports (around $106 billion U.S. dollars) to 25% duties, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters at a press conference on Saturday night. Some C$30 billion will face the new duties from Tuesday, the same day U.S. tariffs on Canadian products are slated to go into effect. A further C$125 billion of U.S. products will go into effect in three weeks “to allow Canadian companies and supply chains to seek to find alternatives,” Trudeau said.
The first wave of tariffs, set for Tuesday, will target orange juice, peanut butter, wines and spirits, beer and coffee, among other products, a statement from Canada's Finance Department reads. Meanwhile, fruits and vegetables, beef, pork and dairy products will feature in the second round of duties that follows a 21-day public comment period, the statement added.
"All options remain on the table as the government considers additional measures, including non-tariff options," the statement said.
Mexico and Canada were the U.S.’ second and third largest buyers of U.S. agriculture products in 2023, according to Agriculture Department data, with both buying nearly $30 billion each. Only China, which was also hit with new tariffs in Trump’s tariff actions Saturday, bought more U.S. ag products.
The U.S. is a major buyer of Canadian oil and potash, and the Canadian government had been weighing export taxes for some commodities as part of retaliatory plans, according to the Globe and Mail. Asked whether this could feature in future retaliatory measures, Trudeau didn’t rule it out, but said that he would only impose measures that disproportionately hurt a single Canadian industry or region after consulting with regional leaders and industries.
“No one part of the country should be carrying a heavier burden than any other,” Trudeau said.
At one point in the press conference, speaking directly to Canadian citizens, Trudeau encouraged consumers to “choose Canada,” by adjusting consumption habits to prioritize Canadian goods.
“It might mean opting for Canadian rye over Kentucky bourbon, or forgoing Florida orange juice altogether,” he said.
Ultimately, Trudeau said he still hoped to avoid the U.S. tariffs. He revealed that he has been trying to speak to the U.S. president since the inauguration on Jan. 20, without any luck. Accordingly, he said he was working with Canadian provincial premiers to find other ways to encourage U.S. officials to walk back the tariffs.
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Trudeau met with the leaders of Canadian provinces on Saturday to discuss the country’s response. Accordingly, several Canadian premiers unveiled their own regional retaliatory measures Saturday.
At a press conference, British Columbia Premier David Eby said he had directed government-owned liquor vendors in his state to stop buying American liquor from Republican U.S. states, effective today. Nova Scotia’s Premier Tim Houston said he had directed his stores to adopt an identical stance starting Tuesday.
At the meeting with Trudeau earlier in the day, Eby told reporters that premiers were “united and resolute about the need to respond – to respond firmly and forcefully to these tariffs,” arguing that Trump’s actions had “brought Canadians together and focused us on the threat at hand.”
Both Nova Scotia and British Columbia, their premiers said, will also limit access to procurement contracts for U.S. businesses. Houston said his government in Nova Scotia would also seek opportunities to cancel existing contracts.
South of the border, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a post to X that she was instructing her Secretariat of the Economy to implement a retaliatory plan the government has been working on.
The plan, she said, “includes tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico's interests,” according to an informal translation. Reuters reported last week that such a plan could include new duties on U.S. pork, cheese, apples, grapes, potatoes, cranberries, and whiskey.
Sheinbaum also proposed that the U.S. and Mexico form a working group of public health and security professionals to address cross-border drug flows.
“Problems are not resolved by imposing tariffs, but by talking,” her post reads, adding, “we must work together in an integrated manner, but always under the principles of shared responsibility, mutual trust, collaboration and, above all, respect for sovereignty, which is not negotiable.”
In a statement, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson denounced the 10% tariff that will be applied to U.S. imports from China and stressed that Beijing will "take necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests."
The country's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that it would challenge the tariff at the World Trade Organization.
"The U.S.’s unilateral tariff hikes severely violate WTO rules," a Chinese embassy spokesperson told Agri-Pulse in an email late Saturday night. "This move cannot solve the U.S.'s problems at home and more importantly, does not benefit either side, still less the world."