The latest tariff to be announced by United States President Donalld Trump is targeted at Canada’s automobile industry.
These tariffs would see 25% tariffs implemented on all automobile and auto parts being imported into the US, which will make vehicles more expensive for Americans, and will impact workers in the Canadian auto industry.
Trump says he is doing this in the interests of “national security.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to Canadians about the new tariff shortly after it was imposed.
“Yesterday, in the latest salvo in his trade war, President Trump again imposed unjust tariffs on our nation, in violation of our existing trade agreements,” said Carney.
“This time he targeted the auto industry and the more than 500,000 hard-working, dedicated Canadians that that industry supports across our country.”
Carney added that he understands Trump trying to support American auto workers, but he disagrees with him in how he is going about it.
“With time it will become apparent that these actions will end up hurting American workers and American consumers,” he continued.
“I reject any attempt to weaken Canada—to wear us down, to break us so that America can own us. That will never happen.”
In an effort to fight these tariffs, Carney says retaliatory tariffs will be imposed against the US that will have maximum impact on Americans, while having minimal impacts on Canadians.
Though he hasn’t announced what those retaliatory tariffs will be, he has announced a plan to support auto workers in Canada who will be most heavily impacted.
Carney plans to create a $2 billion ‘Strategic Response Fund’ to boost Canada’s auto sector, to build an “All-in-Canada” network for auto manufacturing component parts, to maximize Canada’s steel, aluminum and critical Minerals and to leverage government funding to prioritize Canadian-built vehicles.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre also provided a statement on this latest attack on Canada’s economy.
“I want to start by condemning, without equivocation, the unjustified and unprovoked tariffs that President Trump has now announced against our auto sector,” said Poilievre.
“These tariffs will damage his workers and his economy, just as they will damage ours.”
Though Poilievre did not announce any specific plans to support the auto workers who will be impacted by these tariffs, he did say that he would like to see Canada target the US with retaliatory tariffs for resources we can get elsewhere, but Americans rely upon getting from us.
