Canada to announce C$29.8 billion in retaliatory tariffs on US, official says

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-announce-c298-bln-retaliatory-tariffs-us-2025-03-12/

created by marketrent on 12/03/2025 at 12:50 UTC

2584 upvotes, 51 top-level comments (showing 25)

Comments

Comment by OpticBomb at 12/03/2025 at 13:15 UTC

1 upvotes, 4 direct replies

How dare we defend ourselves against an unprovoked trade war by our once closest ally.

Comment by RideauRaccoon at 12/03/2025 at 13:42 UTC

1 upvotes, 7 direct replies

I wonder how this will play into Ford's trip to DC tomorrow. Will they cancel it, or is it still on? And if it doesn't get cancelled, will it just be an ambush, like the Zelenskyy visit? I can't imagine Trump is going to take this announcement gracefully, even if it was communicated in advance.

I don't see any way this whole trade war ends well without Trump either losing interest in us, or having the stock market crash hard enough that he's forced to back off. Good luck, Mr Ford. You may be walking into a trap.

Comment by KylenV14 at 12/03/2025 at 13:55 UTC

1 upvotes, 20 direct replies

Lutnick this morning: "The best way to actually merge the economies of Canada and the United States is for Canada to become our 51st state ... Canada is gonna have to work with us to really integrate their economy, and as the president said, they should consider the amazing advantages of being the 51st state."

Fuck these people.

Comment by marketrent at 12/03/2025 at 12:51 UTC

96 upvotes, 0 direct replies

March 12 (Reuters) - Canada will announce C$29.8 bln in retaliatory tariffs on the United States on Wednesday in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, a Canadian official said.*

The official declined to be named.*

Trump's increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday as prior exemptions, duty free quotas and product exclusions expired, and as his campaign to reorder global trade norms in favor of the U.S. gains momentum.*

Canada is the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States.*

The escalation of the U.S.-Canada trade war occurred as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepared to hand over power this week to his successor Mark Carney, who won the leadership race of the ruling Liberals on Sunday.*

On Monday, Carney said he could not speak with Trump until he was sworn in as prime minister. Trump again on social media said he wanted Canada "to become our cherished Fifty First State."*

Comment by DudeIsThisFunny at 12/03/2025 at 13:48 UTC

1 upvotes, 2 direct replies

It really is such a shame. We could be getting rich together right now, pumping up production, lifting eachother up instead of dragging eachother down.

They don't even make sense. Take aluminum, If the U.S. were to onshore all 2.7 million metric tons of Canadian aluminum it imported in 2024, the energy requirement would skyrocket to over 40 million megawatt-hours of electricity. That's enough to power Nevada for a year.

They don't have the bauxite used to make it, they mine 1.3% of what they use. So they're going to import an insane amount of bauxite from either Brazil, China, India, or Australia, somehow set-up the infrastructure to produce millions of tons of aluminum, power it with what, coal? All while losing money in the process. Why?

Comment by Enty_Jay at 12/03/2025 at 13:13 UTC*

1 upvotes, 2 direct replies

Good. Do what it takes to end this bullshit today. Americans need to look up from their fucking grills and feel some of the fear and trauma they're putting the rest of the world through. I doubt I will ever visit the USA again.

Comment by Ongo_Gablogian at 12/03/2025 at 12:52 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Good.

Comment by Just_in_w at 12/03/2025 at 13:21 UTC*

1 upvotes, 4 direct replies

Honestly, I think it should just be a targeted 25% export tariff on potash. They have already shown their hand that they want to exempt it, with their cringe EO. It would have maximal impact on them, and minimal on us.

Edit: Changed tariff, to export tariff, since there's been some confusion about what I meant. Fixed

Comment by Conscious_Candle2598 at 12/03/2025 at 13:24 UTC

1 upvotes, 3 direct replies

And tomorrow it will flip flop to something else.

Man, Trump is really trying to make people go nuts

Comment by glormosh at 12/03/2025 at 13:50 UTC

1 upvotes, 3 direct replies

I'm becoming increasingly worried Doug Ford is getting baited by the US. Had great initial posturing but you can tell they're learning how to manage him.

It was a massive blow to our leverage when he dropped the electricity tax. It shows we're okay with partaking in the nonsense. I think sadly Ford might mean well, but he's not realizing that this isn't an in good faith bargaining exercise.

I actually think they're sizing him up to see what his price tag is to see if they can put premieres in line with the US and go from the ground up.

Doug has been great, but I think he's not seeing the forest through the trees.

Comment by MasterOfPanic at 12/03/2025 at 13:20 UTC

1 upvotes, 6 direct replies

American here. You guys do what you need to do. A lot of us down here support you.

Comment by Few-Fun26 at 12/03/2025 at 13:47 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Sweet! Maybe our taxes can start coming down so the unfair trade to America can pay for our shit..

Fuck America. I’ve said it since 9/11… they are just global bullies. Justified terrorists, and the ultimate keyboard warriors.. they sit while their real soldiers go die for a (usually bs cause) and scream “America number 1”..

Gun toting gross delusional patriotic scum.

Comment by stephenBB81 at 12/03/2025 at 13:49 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I wish we'd add a 5% export tariff on the things he has put input tariffs on.

use that 5% export tariff to invest back into the industries we collect it from. The Steel industry is going to need some supports, as will the aluminum industry we might as well make it favourable for other international buyers to buy our materials instead of letting Trump collect his 25% revenue.

Every dollar we sell to someone else instead of the US reduces how much money he collects in Tariffs and challenges his claim that tariffs make the US money.

Us doing export tariffs pisses him off way more than us doing import tariffs.

Comment by LeroyChenkins at 12/03/2025 at 13:47 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

We’ve had first tariff, but what about second tariffs?

Comment by sjmp94 at 12/03/2025 at 14:42 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I’ve never seen a US administration do so many things to unknowingly unite Canadians. Even Quebec is identifying as strongly Canadian these days. When Doug Ford seems likeable, something is up

Comment by MandemSkiAh at 12/03/2025 at 17:41 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

At this point these posts should have a date/time stamp in the title so we can keep track of most current info

Comment by No_Refrigerator8913 at 12/03/2025 at 18:24 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

And Lutnick can shove it up his ass with walnuts

Comment by xxxdrakoxxx at 12/03/2025 at 13:26 UTC

1 upvotes, 1 direct replies

all this does is hurt Canadians. export tax on electricity got Trump fuming for a reason. Put export tax on potash. Put export tax on Nickel and add even more to Aluminum. Stop raising Canadian prices as a flex

Comment by One_Income8526 at 12/03/2025 at 14:08 UTC

1 upvotes, 4 direct replies

As a Canadian, is Canada doing anything extra to bring more manufacturing to Canada with these tariffs? No, while the US plans to for their country. All this is doing is taking more money from Canadians' pockets..

Comment by imaswannn at 12/03/2025 at 15:07 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Good. Don’t back down.

Comment by Low-Celery-7728 at 12/03/2025 at 15:14 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Throw a tax on oil, water, electricity and lumber heading into the US.

Ford rattled Trump YESTERDAY, need more of that.

Comment by seeyousoon2 at 12/03/2025 at 16:51 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Oh good that's only $749 for each and every single citizen to pay. Yay we're winning!

Comment by AngryTrooper09 at 12/03/2025 at 17:36 UTC*

1 upvotes, 1 direct replies

What angers me the most about this whole situation is that it’s based on one person’s grudge against our country. This has never been a position adopted by Democrats OR Republicans. But now that Trump pushes this idea, a lot of Republicans are suddenly on board.

This didn’t need to happen and both Canadians and ESPECIALLY Americans will be hurt from this. When this eventually starts hurting the wallets of MAGA voters, I better not hear any whining from them in the next 4 years

Comment by Fun-Potential-342 at 12/03/2025 at 18:34 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I wonder whos economy will outlast the others. I went shopping yesterday here in the states and for the first time I purposely looked for Canadian made products and was disappointed with what I found. I don’t drink alcohol and I don’t like maple syrup. Hell I can’t find American made shit here other than food. Everything else says China on it.