Canada and China swiftly announced retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. on Tuesday, shortly after long-threatened levies by the Trump administration on those countries and Mexico took effect.
President Donald Trump’s new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada were imposed at 12:01 a.m. ET, along with a doubling of duties on some Chinese goods to 20%.
Trump’s moves effectively launched new trade conflicts with the U.S.’s top three trading partners and threatened to upend nearly $2.2 trillion in two-way annual trade. The tit-for-tat tariffs rattled global markets.
Trump has accused all three countries of not doing enough to clamp down on drugs like the deadly opioid fentanyl entering the U.S. He has also claimed tariffs prevent other countries from taking American jobs.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa would respond with immediate 25% tariffs on $20.7 billion worth of U.S. imports and on another $86.2 billion if Trump’s tariffs were still in place in 21 days. He said previously that Canada would target American beer, wine, bourbon, home appliances, and Florida orange juice.
“Tariffs will disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship,” Trudeau said, adding that they would violate the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement signed by Trump during his first term.