Trudeau says Canada will push back on U.S. tariffs with Trump administration

CITYnews halifax / By Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press

PARIS — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday Ottawa will work to convince U.S. President Donald Trump that his “unacceptable” steel and aluminum tariffs will hurt both countries.

A senior government official said that Trudeau spoke with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance about the impact steel tariffs would have in Ohio, which Vance previously represented in the U.S. Senate.

Trump signed an executive order Monday to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, beginning March 12.

Trudeau and Vance are both in Paris for a global summit on AI.

Trudeau briefly spoke to reporters before a plenary at which Vance spoke and Trudeau attended.

Trudeau said his government would “be working with the American administration over the coming weeks to highlight the negative impacts on Americans and Canadians of these unacceptable tariffs.”

Trudeau added he will also be working with “international partners and friends and if it comes to that, our response, of course, will be firm and clear.”

Asked whether his government would impose dollar-for-dollar reciprocal tariffs, Trudeau responded “we hope it will not come to that.”

Speaking in French, he said there have been “initial conversations” with allies. He pointed to his upcoming visit to Brussels on Wednesday where he will meet with EU leaders, and said there is “co-ordination to be done.”

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen, who is also in Paris for the AI summit, said Tuesday the U.S. tariffs “will not go unanswered,” adding that they will trigger tough countermeasures from the 27-country bloc.

On Monday, Canada’s ambassador to France Stéphane Dion told reporters European countries are working on a cohesive strategy to address Trump’s tariff threats.

He said they “are working with us about how can we have a cohesive way to convince the U.S. administration that trade wars are painful for everyone … and not something that you should do between friends.”

Dion also told reporters Canada won’t be successful in trade diversification unless that effort includes Europe.

“Now that we see that unfortunately, for now at least, the U.S. administration is not as reliable as we thought, not respecting treaties as we thought, we need Europeans and Canadians to work very closely together,” he said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh issued a statement Tuesday morning saying the “trade war” Trump unleashed cannot go unanswered and workers are worried about their jobs.

Singh said he wants to see dollar-for-dollar tariffs put in place “urgently”, 100 per cent tariffs on vehicles from Elon Musk’s Tesla, and changes to government procurement to prioritize the purchase of Canadian-made steel and aluminum.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also called for dollar-for-dollar steel and aluminum counter tariffs at a news conference in Iqaluit on Monday.

Poilievre said that under a Conservative government, revenue collected by Canadian tariffs should be used to reimburse affected industries and any surplus would be used to fund broader tax cuts.

As Trudeau visits Paris and Brussels, Canadian premiers are taking up the Team Canada mantle in Washington this week for a joint mission to convince Trump to drop tariff threats for good.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2024.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press