Canada launches counter auto tariffs against U.S.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Thursday Canada will be responding by matching the U.S. approach with 25 percent tariffs on all vehicles imported from the United States that are not compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), Xinhua reports.
The prime minister said his government will also impose the tariff on non-Canadian content of any CUSMA-compliant vehicles from the U.S., adding that Mexico won't be impacted.
Carney said that the global economy "is fundamentally different today than it was yesterday."
"Yesterday's actions by the U.S. administration, while not specifically targeting Canada, will rupture the global economy and adversely impact global economic growth," he said.
"Our old relationship of steadily deepening integration with the United States is over. The 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global economic leadership is over," said Carney.
Carney also said his government has gone to the World Trade Organization to argue the tariffs violate international trade law.
Canada was spared from the 10 percent baseline tariffs, but a 25 per cent U.S. tariff on imported autos went into effect at midnight.
As earlier reported, amid widespread opposition, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs," imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" and higher rates on certain trading partners.
