Ottawa is hitting back against the United States with hefty counter-tariffs on $27.6-billion worth of American products including metals, seafood, clothing, home appliances and electronic devices.
On Tuesday morning, the federal government outlined how it plans to retaliate against the new 50-per-cent tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump placed on around $28-billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend after trade talks collapsed late Friday.
Ottawa is targeting more than 700 items, with most of the levies set at 25 per cent or 50 per cent, with a small number subject to a lower 15-per-cent tariff. The tariffs are scheduled to come into force on Sept. 8.
Ottawa also outlined a $7.5-billion support package of “new and enhanced” measures Tuesday for Canadian workers and businesses affected by the latest wave of American tariffs. The Canadian measures include easier access to Employment Insurance for affected workers and a range of loan programs for businesses.
“When the United States asked too much and offered too little, we chose to stand up for Canadians,” Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.
“Our dollar-for-dollar, rate for rate counter-tariffs as well as a multi-billion dollar support package will protect workers, farmers, families, and businesses as we build a stronger, more resilient, and more diversified Canadian economy.”
The most significant part of Canada’s retaliation, from a dollar perspective, is the decision to raise tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as many products made from the metals, to 50 per cent from the current 25 per cent.
After that, the biggest hit will be to machinery and mechanical appliances, paper and paperboard, electrical machinery and seafood.
Ottawa is targeting a number of consumer items, including dishwashers and refrigerators, furniture and lighting, golf clubs, motorcycles and video game consoles. Even smart phones are on the list, although most Canadian smartphones are not actually manufactured in the U.S.
In a briefing about the measures, a government official said that the tariffs had been designed to reduce competition from U.S. companies for Canadian businesses hit by tariffs. He said that the government would continue to accept remission requests from companies who would be unduly impacted by the tariffs.
The Globe is not identifying the officials because they spoke to journalists on background during a technical briefing before the announcement.
Mr. Trump’s new 50-per-cent tariffs against Canadian products hit electronics, plastics, paper, furniture and home appliances, among other products. The U.S. measures target around 5 per cent of Canadian exports with the damage concentrated in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called on the government to recall Parliament early for a debate on Canada’s response. He said the government should bring in an “economic action plan” to support growth that would include a range of measures, including temporarily removing all tax on gasoline and removing the federal sales tax on Canadian-made cars.
Speaking with reporters in Windsor, Mr. Poilievre also encouraged Canadians to buy domestic goods.
“I send the message out to my fellow Canadians: Buy Canadian. Look at the label, make sure that the things you’re buying have as much Canadian content as humanly possible. Support your fellow workers and stand up for our country,” he said.
Mr. Poilievre said he was scheduled to speak with Mr. Carney at 8:30 a.m.
On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford traded insults with Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump commented further on Truth Social Tuesday morning, responding to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s comment that U.S. trade negotiators proposed weakening support for the French language.
“I would never interfere with Canadians speaking French! In fact, I have never even thought of doing such a stupid thing. This lie was made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support, which he has totally lost, from the people of Quebec. I love French Canadians! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the post said.
He also mused about changing the name of Lake Ontario.
“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Canadian government officials said the $7.5-billion package includes a mix of new and previously announced programs. They also said they do not expect revenues from the new Canadian tariffs to exceed the cost of the support programs.
The specific policies announced Tuesday include a $3.5-billion package of worker supports. This includes extending some existing temporary enhancements to Employment Insurance.
There will also be a new “Workforce Retention and Retraining Program” that will encourage work sharing.
For businesses, regional development agencies will receive an additional $1.5-billion to provide liquidity support.
A new $500-million stream will be added to a loan program at the Business Development Bank of Canada. The government said this will provide working capital to businesses facing cash-flow shortfalls as a result of U.S. tariffs. This new liquidity stream will be added to provide working capital support for small and medium-sized businesses facing immediate cashflow pressures. Companies will be eligible for loans ranging from $250,000 to $5-million and will only be required to pay back interest costs for the first 36 months.
For larger projects, a new stream will be added to the Strategic Response Fund called the Canada Strong Diversification Fund, worth $2-billion. The government said this will support “shovel-ready” projects.
Ottawa also said it is providing “new flexibilities” to the $10-billion Large Enterprise Tariff Loan facility, administered by the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation (CEEFC). The government said this will provide liquidity for large employers.
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