OTTAWA — Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada will hit back against U.S. tariffs on Canadian aluminum with $3.6 billion in tariffs of our own.
Freeland says the tariffs will match dollar-for-dollar the costs of the planned 10 per cent import tariff on Canadian raw aluminum that will apply starting Aug. 16.
President Donald Trump accuses Canada of breaking a promise not to flood the U.S. market with aluminum, an accusation Canada and its aluminum producers say is completely false.
Freeland says Ottawa has a long list of U.S. products containing aluminum to possibly target for the retaliation, including washing machines, golf clubs and exercise equipment.
She says the government will spend the next 30 days consulting with the domestic industry to determine which items on the list will end up being targeted.
Freeland says the goal is to inflict the least damage on Canada while having the “strongest possible impact” on the United States.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2020.
The Canadian Press
