Canada has announced it will impose tariffs on a wide range of key American industries including cosmetics, dairy, wood products and outdoor equipment in the coming weeks, as it retaliates roughly \u201cdollar for dollar\u201d against levies imposed by the US.<\/p>\n
In a strong Canadian countermove to tariffs levied by Donald Trump<\/a>, which took effect on Saturday after trade talks collapsed the day before, Canada\u2019s finance and industry ministers on Tuesday called the measure a \u201cfocused response\u201d to what they see as unfair trade practices.<\/p>\n The White House claimed it was using section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to protest against \u201cdiscriminatory\u201d trade policies by Canada, including provincial bans on US alcohol \u2013 a ban that was only implemented in protest against tariffs imposed on Canadian goods last year.<\/p>\n The prime minister, Mark Carney<\/a>, had previously pledged a \u201cdollar-for-dollar\u201d response from his government after roughly 5% of exports to the US were singled out by the White House.<\/p>\n The retaliatory Canadian measures will cover C$27.6bn ($19.9m) in imports and are meant to target key industries including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper.<\/p>\n The list from Ottawa has more than 700 items, ranging from from hockey sticks to ornamental fish and toilet paper to smoked lobster, with most of the tariffs set at 25% or 50%. A small group of items, including air conditioning units and tool parts, will face a lower 15% tariff. The levies will be effective starting 8 September and only apply to goods originating from the US.<\/p>\n In announcing the retaliatory measures, the finance minister, Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne, said the country was united in its fight against the US, telling attenders that Canada remained \u201cmasters of our own home\u201d.<\/p>\n The industry minister, M\u00e9lanie Joly, called on businesses and consumers to buy Canadian goods as part of a broader \u201cresistance\u201d movement in the trade war.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have power,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The government also announced more than C$7bn in support for businesses affected by the latest tariffs, adding to more than C$20bn in support announced over the past 18 months.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s decision to retaliate means both countries have doubled down on a trade war that could cost billions.<\/p>\n Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said he was giving \u201cserious consideration\u201d to changing the name of Lake Ontario to \u201cLake America\u201d \u2013 reminiscent of his decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Others pointed out<\/a> that Ontario, Canada\u2019s most populous province, was named after the lake, not the other way around.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s frustration with Ontario in particular stems from his feud with the province\u2019s premier, Doug Ford, who called the president a \u201closer\u201d and the \u201cking of bankruptcies\u201d and told the US president to \u201ckiss my ass\u201d. He also threatened to cut electricity and rare earth metal exports to the US.<\/p>\n Trump called Ford a \u201cflunky\u201d of \u201cGovernor Carney\u201d and warned \u201cthese clowns to \u2018fall in line\u2019 or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE!\u201d<\/p>\n