*OTTAWA: Canada struck back at the Trump administration over US steel andaluminum tariffs on Friday, vowing to impose punitive measures on C$16.6billion ($12.63 billion) worth of American goods until Washington relents.*
The announcement by Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland marks a new low inties between the neighbors and trading partners which have becomeincreasingly strained since U.S. President Donald Trump took power inJanuary 2017.
The Canadian tariffs will come into effect on July 1 and largely targetU.S. steel and aluminum products, but also foodstuffs such as coffee,ketchup and whiskies, according to a list by the Department of Finance.link>
“We will not escalate and we will not back down,” Freeland told reportersat a Stelco Holdings Inc plant in the Ontario steel city of Hamilton.
Officials say the measures are designed in part to pressure Trump byfocusing on goods from states where his political allies hold sway.
Canada’s Liberal party government said last month it would retaliate afterTrump moved against steel and aluminum imports from Canada and othernations, citing security grounds.
“We are acting very much in sorrow, not in anger,” said Freeland, stressingthe closeness of the overall relationship. Bilateral trade is worth aroundC$2 billion a day.
Freeland said she had already spoken to U.S. Trade Representative RobertLighthizer six times this week and was prepared to meet at any time totackle the issue.
Ottawa also unveiled an aid package for affected industries and workersworth up to C$2 billion, consisting mainly of up to C$1.7 billion incommercial financing and insurance for firms in the steel and aluminumsectors and related industries.
The Trump administration is studying whether to put tariffs on Canadianautos, which economists say would help plunge the economy into a recession.Freeland called the idea “absolutely absurd”.
The U.S. embassy in Ottawa said it had no immediate comment.
While opposition parties have so far largely backed Prime Minister JustinTrudeau for standing up to Trump, their support could be tested once theU.S. tariffs start to bite.
Trudeau, who usually attends celebrations in Ottawa on July 1 to mark theCanada Day holiday, will instead spend part of the weekend with families ofsteel workers in the western province of Saskatchewan, Public SafetyMinister Ralph Goodale said on Twitter. Goodale is from Saskatchewan, whereEvraz plc has a major plant.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said earlier this month the tariffswere designed in part to stop cheap steel entering the United States viaCanada and other countries.
Ottawa would take measures to stop the dumping of steel in the coming weeksonce it had finished consulting stakeholders, said Canadian InnovationMinister Navdeep Bains, appearing at the same event as Freeland.
In Washington, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said the tariffswould hit $170 million worth of U.S. beef products.
“We believe that cooperation is a better path forward than escalation,”said Kent Bacus, the association’s director of international trade andmarket access.
U.S. officials have also linked the tariffs to slow progress in talks tomodernize the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump says is adisaster and must be changed.
Freeland said she expected the negotiations would enter an intensive phaseafter a Mexican presidential election on July 1.