Canada strikes back: Plans retaliation to Trump's car tariffs
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reported on Wednesday that Canada will soon respond to the new American tariffs on cars announced by U.S. President Donald Trump. He added that a special government meeting will be held on Thursday.
"We will defend our workers. We will defend our companies. We will defend our country. ... I'm sure that will happen soon," emphasized Carney, commenting on Trump's decision about the tariffs after leaving a meeting with Unifor union president Lana Payne.
Canada prepares a response to Trump
He deemed the tariffs a direct attack on Canadian workers and announced that Canada will soon respond to the American tariffs on cars imported to the USA.
"It will happen soon ... we have options. We can introduce retaliatory tariffs," said Carney. He did not provide details.
At the beginning of March, Canada announced it would impose a 25% tariff on U.S. imports totaling 113 billion dollars.
Carney added that Canadians have been observing U.S. actions for many months, which he described as a betrayal in relations and stressed that Canada must "take care of itself." He reminded that the Canadian government is committed to allocating all funds gained from retaliatory tariffs imposed on U.S. imports to support Canadian workers.
New U.S. tariffs
Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that, on April 2, he would impose a 25% tariff on all cars and light trucks imported from abroad.
The previous rate was 2.5%. Cars imported to the USA under CUSMA, the Canadian-American-Mexican free trade agreement, will only be subject to tariffs on "non-American components," reported the public broadcaster CBC.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called for retaliatory tariffs to "maximize the pain felt by Americans." Ontario is home to the Canadian automotive industry.
According to the Tradeimex portal, Mexico is the largest exporter of cars to the USA, accounting for nearly 25% of imported vehicles. Like Canada (13%), Mexico hosts American auto manufacturers' plants on its territory. Japan (18.6%) and South Korea (17.3%) follow. Germany, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Italy, and Sweden are the most prominent European exporters.
Poland is not a significant source of imported finished cars, but exports many parts and accessories, valued at 311 million U.S. dollars in 2024.
On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU would assess Donald Trump's announcement about imposing a 25% tariff on all imported cars. "Tariffs are taxes – bad for businesses, worse for consumers equally in the US and the European Union," she said.
