U.S. President Donald Trump is signing another tariff to Canada and signed an executive order on Wednesday that would attack all non-US-made cars with massive import taxes.
Trump said the U.S. would impose a 25% tariff on these imports, but it is not clear when to apply.
The president said automatic tariffs will start on April 2, but advised them to start at a base rate of 2.5%.
“What we’re going to do is 25% tariffs on all cars that are not made in the U.S.. If they are made in the U.S., there are absolutely no tariffs. We’re going to start with a base of 2.5%, which is where we are and we’re going to get a center of 25%.
Automobile is the second largest Canadian exporter after oil and the most profitable manufacturing product that Canada has sold to the world so far, linked to thousands of Canadian jobs.
This makes these tariffs more important than any other Trump trade threat, including a 10% energy levy and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum.
But the impact will depend on whether the tariffs apply to fully assembled cars or include auto parts. The U.S. and Canada’s automotive industries are so integrated that parts often cross the border multiple times.
Liberal leader Mark Carney said the tariffs were a “direct attack” on Canadian workers, no matter how they applied. He said the government will look for options that may retaliate against the United States
“We have anticipated this possibility,” he told reporters Wednesday night. “We will take steps that are in the interests of Canadian workers in Canada. We will support Canada. We will be united.”
Earlier Wednesday, Carney pledged a $20 billion proposal to protect Canada’s auto industry.
Liberal leader Mark Carney brought his campaign to Windsor on Wednesday to promote a $2 billion proposal to protect the Canadian auto industry.
Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford said Canada will need to deal with new tariffs and called for retaliatory tariffs that “maximize American suffering.”
“I feel bad about Americans, but it’s a person, and President Trump is causing this chaos,” he told reporters at Queen’s Park. “We’re not going to turn over. We’re going to do everything we can.”
Flavio Volpe, president of the Auto Parts Manufacturers Association, said it is creating uncertainty about paralyzing the industry, not just in Canada. He told CBC News that the evolving tariff threat has also scared U.S. investors.
“[Trump] He moves the stick twice a day,” he said while awaiting the announcement Wednesday: “You don’t know what happens when you wake up in the morning. ”
The announcement came ahead of the announcement, Volpe predicted a 25% tariff, but some exemptions, which may be based on the North American Parts reached by Trump himself, a deal that was reached by the United Nations-Mexico Canada deal.
Indeed, Canada is a rare trading partner in the United States, unlike the rest of the world, it is actually cars and parts purchased from the United States rather than for sale.
The first Trump administration has filed a report on automatic tariffs, with little mention of Canada. This shows that Canada’s share of North American automobile production has been relatively stable since the 1980s, and the real shift has been produced from the United States to Mexico.
But the second Trump administration is more aggressive in embracing trade protectionism, and its threats, hoping to turn production to the United States
