US allies Canada, Mexico and Europe said they would retaliate by imposing their own penalties on American goods after the Trump administration on Thursday placed tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the tariffs — 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum — and said they would take effect Friday.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the tariffs “totally unacceptable” and an affront to an ally that has fought alongside American forces for decades.
“Canada buys more American steel than any other country in the world, half of US steel exports,” he said. “Canada is a secure supplier of aluminum and steel to the US defense industry, putting aluminum in American planes and steel in American tanks. That Canada could be considered a national security threat to the United States is inconceivable.”
Chrystia Freeland, the country’s foreign affairs minister, said Canada will levy penalties on US products until President Trump relents.
Trump first announced the fees in March, saying they were a national security issue because unfair competition from foreign producers of steel and aluminum damages the US.
“Without a strong economy, you can’t have a strong national security,” Ross said.
Canada, Mexico and the European Union were initially granted exemptions, but they end Friday.
“This is protectionism, pure and simple,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement.
The European Union said it would impose taxes on a number of US imports, including Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Levi’s jeans and Kentucky bourbon.
Mexico said it would apply penalties to blueberries, pork bellies, grapes and certain types of steel.
Canada will hit the US with tariffs against steel and aluminum.
Some countries — including Argentina, Australia, Brazil and South Korea — agreed to restrict exports of metals and were exempted, but Ross said the EU, Canada and Mexico were not there yet.
Even some members of Trump’s own political party criticized how he was treating US allies.
“We’ve been down this road before — blanket protectionism is a big part of why America had a Great Depression. ‘Make America Great Again’ shouldn’t mean ‘Make America 1929 Again,’” said Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.).
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said the import duties are a “tax hike on Americans.”
Trudeau offered an olive branch.
“Americans remain our partners, our allies and our friends,” he said. “This is not about the American people. We have to believe that at some point common sense will prevail, but we see no sign of that with this action today.”
With Post wires
