Canada hits back at US with 25% reciprocal tariffs on steel, aluminum

Canada has responded to a 25 per cent U.S. tariff on steel and aluminum from Canada by introducing 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on an additional $29.8B of imports from the U.S., Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced Wednesday.

LeBlanc said the new counter-tariffs will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on March 13 and apply to steel products worth $12.6 billion, aluminum products worth $3 billion, as well as additional imported U.S. goods worth $14.2 billion.

Speaking alongside LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne also sought to reassure Canadians about the permanence of the Canadian auto industry.

“We’re going to fight for the auto industry every single day,” he said.

“These companies, most of them have long standing commitments to this country. We’re going to make sure they abide by the terms of every single agreement we have with them and make sure we protect the jobs we have.”

Ministers LeBlanc and Joly also voiced confidence in new Liberal party leader Mark Carney’s leadership in this turbulent time.