Canada is imposing 25% tariffs on some of the vehicles imported from the US, in response to the “aggressive” tariff policy Donald Trump has imposed on the country.
Specifically, as the BBC reports, Canadians will henceforth be forced to pay a so-called import tax on certain cars or their parts that come from the US.
Canadian Finance Minister François-Filip Champagne wrote in a post on X that his country was responding to the “unjustified and unreasonable” tariffs imposed on them by the US, while in another post he said, “We will protect our workers, our businesses and our economy”, confirming the “retaliation”.
Canada was not directly affected by the new US tariff package – which also came into effect at midnight – but Ottawa was already at loggerheads with Washington over Trump’s pre-existing policies, which tax a range of items that cross the border.
A government newsletter clarified that Canadian importers will be forced to pay a tax of 25% on certain cars or their parts:
– Any fully assembled vehicles arriving from the U.S. that were not compliant with the North American CUSMA free trade agreement
– Any “non-Canadian and non-Mexican content” that was part of a fully assembled vehicle arriving from the US, even if it was compliant with CUSMA
The Canadian tariffs on cars come after Trump’s 25% import taxes on cars entering the US went into effect.
Taxes on auto parts are set to begin next month in the US.
At the same time, Canada’s retaliation is a reaffirmation of a promise by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who in the midst of his election campaign had said he would give a “robust” response to Trump’s tariffs.
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