Canada confirms its readiness to respond to potential US tariffs

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly confirmed her country’s readiness to respond to potential US tariffs next Monday, if US President-elect Donald Trump carries out his threat in this regard.

Joli said, in statements after talks she held in Washington to avoid tariffs, “We have a series of measures already in place, and they are certainly tariffs linked to imports,” noting that “if the president goes ahead on Monday, we will be ready… and we are ready for a second and third round.”

Canadian sources revealed that if the president-elect carries out his threat, Canada will immediately target a small group of goods, including orange juice from “Lorida” where Trump lives, adding that the Ottawa authorities have drawn up a broader list of targets but will hold public consultations before implementation.

She explained that the extent of any potential response will depend on the measures taken by Trump, stressing that Canada may impose countermeasures on US imports worth up to 150 billion Canadian dollars ($105 billion).

Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, had said his country might also impose tariffs on critical minerals. Trump had revealed his desire to impose a 25% tariff to push Canada to tighten border security to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and reduce fentanyl smuggling, despite the latter announcing a border security plan costing 1.3 billion Canadian dollars ($909 million) in response.