Trump slaps retaliatory tariffs on dozens of countries but Canada is spared the worst this time
CBC
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday his long-awaited plan to impose what he's calling "retaliatory" tariffs on imports coming from dozens of countries — but the White House said there will be no more across-the-board levies applied to Canada than what has previously been announced.
Trump said however that he is going ahead with a 25 per cent tariff on "all foreign-made" automobiles as of midnight Wednesday, which could have severe implications for the Canadian auto sector.
The White House said that tariff rate will apply to Canadian-made passenger vehicles, but there is a caveat — it will only be levied on the value of all non-U.S. content in that automobile.
Trump also said he would apply "a minimum baseline tariff of 10 per cent" on all goods coming into the U.S., with rates higher than that for countries the president said have supposedly been more egregious about ripping off the Americans.
In a fact sheet disseminated to reporters after Trump's announcement, the White House said Canada will not be subjected to that additional baseline tariff rate because the previously announced border-related tariffs will continue to apply instead.
Trump slapped a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods (and 10 per cent on energy) last month, supposedly in response to drugs and migrants coming into the U.S. across the northern border, but made some exceptions for importers who can prove the products they're bringing in from Canada are compliant with the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA).
Liberal Leader Mark Carney, who paused his election campaign Wednesday to meet in Ottawa with his cabinet to craft a response, said Trump's announcement has "fundamentally changed the international trading system."
Carney said Trump preserved some aspects of the Canada-U.S. "commercial relationship" by holding off on deploying the full force of reciprocal tariffs on this country. But he said the tariffs that will now take effect on autos are a particular concern, and warned there may be more to come for other sectors.
Carney said the White House has signalled to Canada that there may be more U.S. tariffs at a later date on other "strategic sectors" such as pharmaceuticals, lumber and semiconductors.
"The series of measures will directly affect millions of Canadians," Carney told reporters on his way into cabinet Wednesday.
"We're going to fight these tariffs with countermeasures. We are going to protect our workers and we are going to build the strongest economy in the G7. In a crisis it's important to come together and it's essential to act with purpose and with force, and that's what we'll do," he said.
Carney has already agreed with Trump to sit down right after this federal election and start the process of renegotiating a new, comprehensive economic and security relationship to bring this era of fractious relations to a close.
Trump is pursuing a three-pronged approach to tariffs as he tries to radically reshape the American economy.
There are the "reciprocal" tariffs that Trump imposed Wednesday on a whole host of other countries except Canada and Mexico.
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This First Person article is the experience of Kristine Thoreson, who lives in Calgary. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.