Trudeau announces 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods starting Tuesday

Canada is imposing its own 25 per cent tariffs on $155 billion worth of U.S. goods after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped Canada with 25 per cent tariffs on all goods and 10 per cent tariffs on oil, natural gas and electricity.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the tariffs will take effect on $30 billion worth of goods starting Tuesday with a further $125 billion worth of products being taxed 21 days later.

Trudeau elected to go ahead with retaliatory tariffs even though Trump’s order includes a mechanism to escalate the rates if Canada retaliates against the U.S.

The U.S. tariffs are also scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday, setting a showdown in North America that could potentially sabotage economic growth.

The tariffs risk an economic standoff with America’s two largest trading partners in Mexico and Canada, upending a decades-old trade relationship.

The Trump administration says it put the tariffs in place to force China, Mexico and Canada to stop the spread and manufacturing of fentanyl, in addition to pressuring Canada and Mexico to limit any illegal immigration into the United States.

A senior U.S. government official did not provide specific benchmarks that could be met to lift the new tariffs, saying only that the best measure would be fewer Americans dying from fentanyl addiction.

Trudeau previously announced Canada would spend $1.3 billion on a border plan that includes helicopters, new canine teams and imaging tools to address Trump’s calls on border security.

Files from The Canadian Press and Associated Press were used in this report