Canada Prepares Hardline Trade Move Against US... Announces Retaliatory Tariffs and Countermeasures

Signs of a trade war between the United States and Canada are escalating further as the Canadian government refuses to back down in the face of additional tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, planning to flesh out retaliatory tariff plans.

According to agencies like the Associated Press, the Canadian cabinet is scheduled to unveil countermeasures including retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. on the 25th, local time.

Canada's latest measures come right on the heels of President Trump threatening Canadian leaders the previous day to "fall in line" and additionally announcing that tariffs on Canadian autos, auto parts, and steel would be hiked to 50 percent starting January 1 of next year.

Prime Minister Carney previously mentioned the day before that Canada might move away from a one-for-one response to U.S. tariff actions and instead implement targeted retaliatory measures to protect Canadian workers and businesses.

Regarding this, multiple sources told Canada's CBC that the items subject to Canada's retaliatory tariffs would be diverse and that domestic alternatives to replace them could be easily secured.

The Canadian government's announcement is also expected to heavily feature domestic relief measures to prepare for a "protracted trade war" with the U.S.

This appears to be underpinned by the assessment that trade friction with the U.S. will persist past the U.S. midterm elections in November, making the resumption of negotiations unlikely in the near future.

Bloomberg News, citing sources, reported that these measures will include the expansion of employment insurance and the implementation of loan programs targeting tariff-hit businesses.

One source explained that these measures are similar to the economic support programs used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The support packages are reportedly being designed to remain in place as long as the bilateral trade dispute persists, and if necessary, throughout the remainder of President Trump's term.

Communication between the two countries has not been entirely cut off, however.

Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's minister of U.S. trade, is in contact with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, a Canadian government official said in an interview with local media on the 24th.

Erin O'Toole, an advisory panel member for Canada-U.S. economic relations, said in an interview with CBC that day, "We all still hope that this negotiation can be fiercely contested to the very end and that we can keep the channels of communication open."

After President Trump warned Canada of imposing tariffs last month, the two countries continued negotiations before suspending them on the night of the 21st.

Following this, the U.S. imposed 50 percent tariffs on approximately 20 billion dollars worth of Canadian goods starting on the 22nd, and Canada has also pre-announced retaliatory tariffs starting September 8 on U.S. steel, dairy products, household appliances, agricultural machinery, and pulp.

Foreign media reports have also emerged pointing to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as the background behind the breakdown of the tariff negotiations, which were known to have made significant progress.

The reports claim that he strongly pressured Canada in the final stages of the talks while advocating for American companies.

According to officials, Secretary Lutnick viewed the baseline agreement as overly favorable to Canada and actively championed U.S. metal producers who wanted to roll back concessions.

In response, the Canadian side reportedly accused Secretary Lutnick of "moving the goalposts at will" and failing to properly adhere to the rules of the negotiation.

However, a White House official refuted claims that Secretary Lutnick derailed the negotiations, stating that Canada was the party that made demands outside the scope of the talks at the end.

A Canadian official stated that while Secretary Lutnick did not help the negotiations, his appearance was not the direct cause of the collapse.

Instead, they argued that there were fundamental problems with the U.S. objectives presented in the final stages of the negotiations.

Bloomberg News pointed out that Secretary Lutnick has consistently jumped on trade issues where he judged more favorable deals for the U.S. could be struck.

The outlet analyzed that this case is "the most recent example of how Secretary Lutnick has acted as a disruptive factor within the Trump administration."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.