TORONTO — Canada is considering implementing retaliatory tariffs on a variety of American products, including orange juice, toilets, and certain steel items, in response to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s warning of a potential 25% tariff on all Canadian exports. A senior Canadian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, indicated that a comprehensive list of targeted items is still in progress.
Trump has suggested using economic leverage to persuade Canada to accept a status akin to the 51st state of the U.S., while mistakenly attributing the trade imbalance with Canada to a form of subsidy. Outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remarked that Trump’s focus on statehood for Canada serves as a distraction from the actual impact of proposed tariffs, which could significantly raise costs for American consumers purchasing Canadian goods.
During an interview with CNN in Washington, where he attended the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, Trudeau expressed his concern. “If he goes ahead with these tariffs, everything American consumers buy from Canada is going to get a lot costlier, and that’s a discussion we need to have,” he advised.
Trudeau’s remarks come in light of Trump’s history of imposing tariffs during his prior term, which prompted various countries, including Canada, to respond with their own sets of retaliatory duties. In 2018, Canada announced significant tariffs against American goods following the imposition of new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
“We would definitely respond as we did years ago,” said Trudeau, recalling the previous tariffs, which included a 10% duty on Wisconsin yogurt and Kentucky whiskey, home states of prominent Republicans like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell.
Trump reiterated his stance that the U.S. is not reliant on Canadian resources, including oil, declaring that Canada’s contributions are unnecessary. However, it is important to note that nearly a quarter of the oil consumed daily in the U.S. is imported from Canada, with Alberta supplying approximately 4.3 million barrels daily. According to data, while the U.S. consumes roughly 20 million barrels of oil each day, domestic production is around 13.2 million barrels.
Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford counters Trump’s narrative, asserting that the U.S. does, in fact, need products from Canada. He highlighted the interlinked supply chains in the auto industry, where components made in Ontario are vital to vehicles manufactured in Detroit, illustrating how parts frequently cross the border multiple times.
Ford cautioned that Canada would retaliate against any tariffs imposed by Trump, indicating that a variety of U.S. exports to Canada would be affected, although he refrained from providing specifics on which items would be targeted.
Senior officials in Canada have noted that Trump’s comments about Canada becoming the 51st state are serious rather than humorous and are aimed at undermining the alliance between these neighboring countries. “The joke is over,” stated Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s finance minister and the main contact for U.S.-Canada relations. He believes that Trump’s rhetoric is intended to create confusion and unrest, despite the implausibility of the idea.
In light of the ongoing tensions, LeBlanc has been in discussions with members of Trump’s future administration concerning a billion-dollar strategy to enhance border security. Trudeau described these negotiations as a strategic win for Trump. Notably, Canada serves as the largest export market for 36 states in the U.S., with almost $3.6 billion Canadian (or $2.7 billion USD) worth of goods and services exchanged across the border daily.
