Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com | Canada has drafted a list of U.S. goods worth billions of dollars that it could tax with tariffs if incoming President Donald Trump moves to impose tariffs on imports from Canada, a Canadian official with knowledge of the plans has told Bloomberg.
An initial list of U.S.-manufactured items potentially subject to Canadian tariffs in case the U.S. hits first would affect U.S. goods worth US$105 billion (C$150 billion), according to Bloomberg’s source who did not disclose what type of items are on this list.
Canada could also impose tariffs against U.S. goods at a later stage, depending on the U.S. policy with tariffs on its trade partners.
“Nothing is off the table,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday, after meeting with the provincial and territorial premiers to discuss a coordinated response to the U.S. tax threat.
Last week, the U.S. president-elect stepped up an argument for making Canada the 51st state of the country.
Trump said he would use “economic force” to make that happen, including the 25% tariffs on imports from Canada he first floated last year as a remedy for the U.S. trade deficit.
The idea of imposing tariffs on Canadian imports has met with strong criticism both from Canada and the United States. The strongest argument against tariffs is that this would fuel inflation at home, which would go against Trump’s campaign promise of more affordable energy for Americans and lower inflation.
Canada’s federal government has threatened to restrict crude oil exports in response to Trump’s idea of imposing tariffs on Canadian imports.
But Alberta, the oil-producing province, has said it would not support restricting oil exports to the U.S.
“Federal government officials continue to publicly and privately float the idea of cutting off energy supply to the U.S. and imposing export tariffs on Alberta energy and other products to the United States,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wrote in a post on X.
“Alberta will simply not agree to export tariffs on our energy or other products, nor do we support a ban on exports of these same products.”
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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