Canada issues blunt response to Trump’s tariff hike

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to hike the tariffs America imposes on its neighbor to the north. The Canadian leader’s “disappointed” reaction came after Trump’s executive order increased tariffs on certain goods from 25 to 35 percent amid a dramatic escalation in the American leader’s hardline trade policy, Knewz.com can report.

Canada hits back

“President Trump has announced that the United States will increase its tariffs to 35 percent on those Canadian exports that are not covered under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA,” Prime Minister Carney said in a statement. “While the Canadian government is disappointed by this action, we remain committed to CUSMA, which is the world’s second-largest free trade agreement by trading volume.” Newsweek reported that Trump’s move threatens to damage the U.S.’s most important two-way trade partnership, as Canada sends 75 percent of its exports to America.

Lumber, steel, aluminum and cars affected

Some of the sectors being “heavily impacted by U.S. duties and tariffs,” Carney noted, include the lumber, steel, aluminum and automobile industries. He vowed that in response to the hikes, the Canadian government “will act to protect Canadian jobs, invest in our industrial competitiveness, buy Canadian, and diversify our export markets.”

Blame Canada

The Trump administration’s official explanation for imposing the tariff increase concerns what it’s called a “national emergency.” Canada, the White House said in a statement, “has failed to cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs” into the U.S. and “Mexican cartels are increasingly operating fentanyl- and nitazene-synthesis labs in Canada,” the White House added, further claiming fentanyl seizures at the U.S.-Canada border in 2025 have been higher than the number of seizures over the past three years. “The amount of fentanyl seized at the northern border to date this fiscal year could have killed more than 16 million Americans due to the drug’s potency. Canada’s retaliatory trade measures against the United States further complicate bilateral efforts to address this escalating drug crisis.”

Misleading claims

Canada’s prime minister has challenged the Trump administration’s framing of the drug issue. “The United States has justified its most recent trade action on the basis of the cross-border flow of fentanyl, despite the fact that Canada accounts for only 1 percent of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes,” Carney said in his statement, adding, “Canada’s government is making historic investments in border security to arrest drug traffickers, take down transnational gangs and end migrant smuggling. These include thousands of new law enforcement and border security officers, aerial surveillance, intelligence and security operations, and the strongest border legislation in our history. We will continue working with the United States to stop the scourge of fentanyl and save lives in both our countries.”

Talks to continue

Canada will continue to negotiate with the U.S. on its trading relationship but in the meantime, Carney explained, “The Canadian government is laser focused on what we can control: building Canada strong.” Canadians, the prime minister said, “will be our own best customer, creating more well-paying careers at home, as we strengthen and diversify our trading partnerships throughout the world. We can give ourselves more than any foreign government can ever take away,” Carney added, “by building with Canadian workers and by using Canadian resources to benefit all Canadians.”

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