Extract from ABC News
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the country will impose further tariffs if US levies aren't lifted.
In short:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Donald Trump has imposed tariffs against Canada to make it "easier" for the US to annex it.
Mr Trudeau says further tariffs against C$125 billion ($138 billion) in US imports will be imposed if Mr Trump's levies aren't lifted in three weeks.
What's next?
Mr Trump is expected to address the US congress later on Tuesday, where he is expected to discuss the tariffs.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused Donald Trump of wanting to "collapse the Canadian economy" through tariffs to make annexation easier.
The comments came after Mr Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff against Canadian imports into the US would come into effect on Tuesday.
Those levies prompted Canadian authorities to implement immediate 25 per cent counter-tariffs against American goods.
The Canadian tariffs will affect C$30 billion ($33 billion) in US imports, but Mr Trudeau vowed to introduce a further 25 per cent tariff on C$125 billion ($138 billion) in US imports if the US' restrictions weren't lifted within three weeks.
The US president also announced tariffs against Mexico and China, which came into effect on Tuesday.
US stock markets dropped more than 1 per cent at opening on Tuesday morning.
Markets have been rattled by Donald Trump's tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China. (AP: Seth Wenig)
In a press conference in Ottowa, Mr Trudeau said the tariffs were a "dumb thing to do" by Mr Trump.
He also said the White House's justification for the tariffs — that Canada was not doing enough to prevent fentanyl arriving into the US — was false, pointing to more border enforcement measures.
"[Mr Trump] wants to see a collapse of the Canadian economy because that would make it easier to annex us," the outgoing prime minister said.
"We will never be the 51st state.
"There is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today."
Mr Trudeau warned Canadians they faced "tough" economic times, but said the steps were necessary to stand up to the US.
The reality of Trump tariffs triggers heavy losses on markets (Kirsten Aiken)
At the same time, the premier of the Canadian province of Ontario, Doug Ford, announced a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian electricity exports to the US.
Canadian generators provide power for millions of Americans in multiple states.
Mr Ford also announced Ontario bottle shops would remove American liquor and would rip up a contract with Elon Musk's Starlink.
In response to Mr Trudeau's statement, Mr Trump took to his Truth Social platform to warn "that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!"
China disputes tariffs with WTO
Meanwhile, China has also announced it had filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation against Mr Trump's tariffs.
The statement comes a day after the US president ordered additional tariffs against Chinese goods, increasing previously imposed 10 per cent levies to 20 per cent.
"The United States' unilateral tax measures seriously violate WTO rules and undermine the foundation of China-US economic and trade cooperation," Beijing's commerce ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said it was "strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed" to the tariffs.
In response to the US tariffs, Beijing has imposed new duties on a range of agricultural imports from the United States.
The additional 15 per cent tariffs on products including chicken, wheat, corn and cotton are due to come into effect next week.
"China will, in accordance with WTO rules, firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests and defend... the international economic and trade order," the commerce ministry statement added.
A WTO official confirmed to news agency AFP that the new complaint from China has been received.
AP/AFP/Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment