Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs on US imported goods worth C$29.8 billion (US$20 billion) effective on Thursday in response to US President Donald Trumpโs steel and aluminium tariffs, Canadaโs Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc has said.
Trumpโs increased tariffs on steel and aluminium imports took effect on Wednesday as prior exemptions, duty-free quotas and product exclusions expired, and as his campaign to reorder global trade norms in favour of the US gains momentum.
Canada is the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminium to the United States.
โWe will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminium industries are being unfairly targeted,โ LeBlanc said. He said Canada would follow a dollar-for-dollar retaliation approach.
Canadaโs retaliation targets steel products worth C$12.6 billion and aluminium products worth C$3 billion as well as additional imported US goods worth C$14.2 billion for a total of $29.8 billion. They will go into effect at 12.01am on Thursday.
Products affected by Canadaโs counter-tariffs include computers, sports equipment and cast iron products, LeBlanc said at a news conference.
These retaliatory tariffs are on top of those on C$30 billion worth of US goods Canada initially imposed on March 4 in response to broader tariffs from Trump.