Canada hits the U.S. with tariffs on $29.8B worth of goods after Trump slaps levy on metals

The federal government announced a plan on Wednesday to slap tariffs on $29.8 billion worth of American goods to hit back against U.S. President Donald Trump after he imposed punishing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum early this morning.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, the government's point person on Canada-U.S. relations, said Trump's attack on Canadian industry is "unjustified and unjustifiable" and the government must hit back as the U.S. inserts "disruption and disorder" into what was once one of the most successful trading relationships in the world.

"We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminum industries are being unfairly targeted," he said. 

LeBlanc said the American products being hit with these tariffs include U.S.-made steel and aluminum, computers, sports equipment and certain cast iron products, among others.

Trump's metals tariffs, which took effect just after midnight, are separate from the other tariffs Trump levied on Canada last week — and later partially dialled back — to supposedly pressure the country to do more at the border on drugs and migrants.

Canada immediately levied tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods in response to those initial tariffs — and didn't take them off even after Trump rejigged his tariff regime.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Trump has claimed he needs to impose tariffs now because Canadian steel and aluminum imports pose a "national security threat" — something she called a bogus and insulting justification.

"The excuse for these tariffs shift every day. The only constant seems to be President Trump's talks of annexing our country through economic coercion. We will not back down and we will not give in to this coercion," she said. "We need to fight back against this nonsense."

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Trump's tariffs will push up the price of virtually everything U.S. factories produce, given just how dependent they are on Canadian metals. The U.S., for example, produces only 16 per cent of the aluminum it needs, while 60 per cent of its supply comes from Quebec alone.

Champagne said Trump's relentless trade attacks likely aren't going away anytime soon and Canada needs an attitude shift to become more independent and resilient.