Canada hits U.S. with $21B in retaliatory tariffs as global trade war heats up
The first shots of President Donald Trump’s global trade war have been fired.
The first shots of President Donald Trump’s global trade war have been fired.
Canada on Wednesday announced new retaliatory trade duties on some $21 billion worth of U.S. goods, a response to Trump implementing universal steel and aluminum tariffs.
Canada’s retaliatory measures follow ones announced Wednesday by the European Union targeting a range of U.S. goods worth $28 billion, including beef, motorcycles and whiskey alongside American-made steel and aluminum. China, too, signaled it was readying a response.
After weeks of threats and negotiations, the tariffs are among the first new, large-scale duties to actually be imposed by the countries, even as Trump has threatened many more. Besides supplemental duties totaling 20% on Chinese goods, Trump has suspended other menaced tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
The back-and-forth threatens to ignite a global trade war that could throttle economic growth prospects worldwide. The Trump administration has sought to downplay the immediate fallout from the trade volleys while also acknowledging there would be an economic “transition” or “detox” as the president implemented his policy goals.
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