PM will speak around 2 p.m. ET after Trump says he’ll go ahead with 25% tariffs

Liberal Leader Mark Carney has paused his campaign and is back in Ottawa on Thursday to deal with the fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed auto tariffs, which would wallop the industry in Canada.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump delivered a blow to the cross-border auto trade, vowing to bring in a new 25 per cent tariff on finished vehicles imported into the United States, starting next week.

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians jobs are connected to the auto sector — the largest manufacturing industry in Canada and second-largest source of exports to the U.S. after oil.

In a social media post Thursday, the president threatened to further punish Canada and the European Union with duties “far larger than currently planned” if they retaliate against his auto tariffs

  • breakfastmtn@lemmy.caOP
    10·
    7 days ago

    Pressed on how Canada will actually respond next week if U.S. tariffs come into effect, the prime minister wouldn’t give details.

    “This is a negotiation,” he said, adding that the government will know “a lot more” in a week. “In a negotiation, it doesn’t make sense to tip your hand.”

    Noting that the threatened tariffs apply to all countries, not just Canada and Mexico, Carney said, “We have the best deal of a bad deal, is the way I would put it.”

    More reciprocal tariffs are coming on April 2, including tariffs on sectors like forestry, lumber, pharmaceuticals and semi-conductors.

    “We have a number of measures that we can take in response to those initiatives.”

    source