Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has responded to the tariffs announced by the United States President Donald Trump. Trudeau said that they didn’t want this but Canada is prepared. He wrote on X, “The United States has confirmed that it intends to impose 25% tariffs on most Canadian goods, with 10% tariffs on energy, starting February 4. I’ve met with the Premiers and our Cabinet today, and I’ll be speaking with President Sheinbaum of Mexico shortly. We did not want this, but Canada is prepared. I’ll be addressing Canadians later this evening.”
Trump Hits Canada, Mexico And China With Tariffs
Sticking firmly to his statement about slapping tariffs on countries during his inaugural address, Donald Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico. China has also been hit with a 10 percent tariff on goods. Trump backed his decision by citing concerns over illegal immigration and the smuggling of drugs, including fentanyl. He added that the action has been taken under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), emphasizing the need to protect Americans and fulfill a campaign promise. Even in his inaugural address, Trump said, ‘Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.’ ‘We are thinking in terms of 25 percent on Mexico and Canada because they’re allowing vast numbers of people… to come in, and fentanyl to come in,’ Trump added.
Trump said that the tariffs have been implemented to protect US citizens from the threats posed by illegal immigration and drug trafficking. He declared that it is his duty as President to ensure safety of all the citizens. Shedding light on his deportation plans, Trump said, “I made a promise on my Campaign to stop the flood of illegal aliens and drugs from pouring across our Borders, and Americans overwhelmingly voted in favour of it.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Today, I have implemented a 25% Tariff on Imports from Mexico and Canada (10% on Canadian Energy), and a 10% additional Tariff on China. This was done through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) because of the major threat of illegal aliens and deadly drugs killing our Citizens, including fentanyl. We need to protect Americans, and it is my duty as President to ensure the safety of all. I made a promise on my Campaign to stop the flood of illegal aliens and drugs from pouring across our Borders, and Americans overwhelmingly voted in favour of it.”
Notably, Trudeau had earlier warned that the country will respond strongly if Donald Trump moves forward with his plan to impose tariffs. He said that Ottawa is willing to inflict ‘economic pain on the US to get Trump to back down’. CBC News reported that Trudeau has promised that his country would respond with “robust, rapid” and “very strong” retaliatory measures.
