Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Saturday that Canada will take retaliatory measures against the United States following the failure of trade negotiations with President Donald Trump's administration. Carney indicated that Canada will match "dollar for dollar" the new tariffs that took effect at midnight.
In a televised address, Carney stated that Canadian retaliatory measures will concentrate on sectors such as steel, dairy products, household appliances and electronics, matching the 50 per cent tariffs that Washington has begun to apply from midnight to Canadian exports worth approximately 20 billion US dollars.
When questioned by the media, Carney explained that although negotiations with Washington to reach an agreement had advanced before the deadline expired, the United States had added a series of conditions that were "unacceptable". The Prime Minister cited in particular demands around the automotive sector, which made it so that "as time goes on, its production would not be economically viable" in the country, as well as last-minute efforts to restrict Canada's ability to reach other trade agreements.
Carney stressed that Canada was not willing to compromise its sovereignty or weaken its core industries. Trump justified the new round of tariffs in response to what he described as "continued discrimination" and "unequal treatment" of US trade by Ottawa.
