Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will announce on Tuesday that it is going ahead with a threat to slap retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods after Washington said it would impose punitive measures on Canadian aluminum imports, CTV said on Monday.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said last month that Ottawa would impose sanctions on $3.6 billion worth of U.S. aluminum and products containing aluminum. The measures would come into force by Wednesday (Sept. 16), she added.
Canada promised to retaliate after U.S. President Donald Trump moved in August to reimpose 10 per cent tariffs on some Canadian aluminum products to protect U.S. industry from a “surge” in imports. Canada denies any impropriety.
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“Everyone in Canada understands aluminum from Canada is no threat to national security in the United States,” Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters Monday ahead of a cabinet retreat in Ottawa.
Champagne noted that Ottawa had slapped tariffs on a wide range of U.S. goods in 2018 after Washington imposed sanctions on Canadian aluminum and steel.
“It’s a formula that we have already used and it’s the formula that we’ll use this time as well,” he said.
Items Ottawa proposed last month for new tariffs include U.S.-made drop-centre livestock trailers (12 metres or longer) and aluminum-wire fencing as well as beverage cans, aluminum foil, major household appliances, wheel rims, office furniture and door and window frame components, among others.
Freeland’s office said it could not confirm an announcement would be made on Tuesday.
— Reporting for Reuters by David Ljunggren and Steve Scherer; includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.
