Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he favors imposing “equal” retaliatory tariffs on the United States if President Donald Trump hits Canada with sweeping 25 percent tariffs as early as next week.
“If the president decides to impose tariffs on Canada, Canada will respond and everything will be on the table,” Trudeau said during a news conference Tuesday in Montebello, Quebec, where his team gathered for a two-day cabinet retreat.
“I support the principle of matching tariffs dollar for dollar. “It is something that we will absolutely be analyzing if that is how they move forward,” he told reporters.
Trudeau added that while his goal was to avoid tariffs, if Trump goes ahead with his plans, Canada’s response “will be forceful, quick and measured, but very strong.”
Trudeau meets with his team in Montebello, Que., for the government’s annual winter cabinet retreat, which will be his last before leaving office in March.
Normally timed to coincide with the return of Parliament from the holidays, this year’s retreat focuses instead on trade strategy between Canada and the United States.
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Shortly after winning the presidential race, Trump threatened to impose punitive tariffs against Canada on his first day in office.
That didn’t happen, but Trump said Monday night that he is considering imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc says this changes little and that the government has prepared responses for several possible scenarios that it has been analyzing for weeks.
– with files from The Canadian Press
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