Canada will be exempt from the sweeping reciprocal tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump is implementing on most other countries, though 25 per cent tariffs on some Canadian goods remain in place, and 25 per cent tariffs on all foreign-made automobiles are coming into effect as of midnight.
Prime Minister Mark Carney — who put his election campaign on pause to meet with his Canada-U.S. Relations Council and cabinet to craft a response to the tariffs — told reporters on Parliament Hill the federal government will “act with purpose and with force” during this crisis. Trump laid out the details of his long-anticipated reciprocal-tariff regime in the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday afternoon.
“Reciprocal. That means they do it to us and we do it to them,” Trump said. “Very simple. Can’t get any simpler than that.”“It’s our declaration of economic independence,” the president also said, before continuing to address the crowd while holding a chart listing the tariffs other countries have in place on American products.
Canada was not listed on the board. The president also said he’d establish a “minimum baseline tariff” of 10 per cent on other countries, without specifying which ones. A fact sheet from the White House, however, does not list either Canada or Mexico as countries that will be subject to the 10 per cent baseline tax.
“Reciprocal tariffs, again, reciprocal, back and forth, back and forth,” Trump said. “And I call this ‘kind reciprocal.’ This is not full reciprocal. This is ‘kind reciprocal’.”
“But what we do is we cut it in half. We charge them,” he added. “My answer is very simple. If they complain, if you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product right here in America, because there is no tariff.” The commander-in-chief has repeatedly referred to the April 2 as “Liberation Day” for the American trade system, what he sees as a reset to the trade imbalance with much of the globe, and a plan to drive manufacturers back to America.
“April 2, 2025 will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,” Trump said Wednesday.
The reciprocal tariffs will be stacked on a series of other Trump-imposed levies, including 25 per cent on foreign-made automobiles, of which Canadian vehicles will be exempt until U.S. administration “establish(es) a process” to tax exclusively the non-American vehicle components of Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)-compliant products. Levies on steel and aluminum — which took effect on March 12 — are also in place. A second month-long reprieve on 25 per cent levies on all Canadian imports and 10 per cent on Canadian energy — which are related to border security — also expired Wednesday. Those apply to all non-CUSMA-compliant goods…
Source: ctvnews.ca
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