Trudeau Hits Back at Trump by Announcing Massive Tariffs on the United States: ‘Canada Will Not Let This Unjustified Decision Go Unanswered’

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday night that his country will retaliate against the U.S. if President Donald Trump goes through with his plan for tariffs on Canadian goods, which are set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday.

Trump has demanded Canada, Mexico, and China do more to curb the manufacture of fentanyl and its smuggling into the U.S. The president has said he will impose 10% tariffs on Chinese imports and 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico.

“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” Trump posted on Truth Social last week.

Trudeau responded on Monday night and announced 25% tariffs on $155 billion in American goods.

“Today, after a 30-day pause, the United States administration has decided to proceed with imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports and 10 per cent tariffs on Canadian energy,” the prime minister said in a statement. “Let me be unequivocally clear – there is no justification for these actions.”

Trudeau went on to note that just one percent of the fentanyl seized at U.S. borders is at the Canadian border.

“Canada will not let this unjustified decision go unanswered,” Trudeau continued. “Should American tariffs come into effect tonight, Canada will, effective 12:01 a.m. EST tomorrow, respond with 25 per cent tariffs against $155 billion of American goods – starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion on American products in 21 days’ time.”

He went on to say that the tariffs will remain in place for the duration of the tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Canada.

“Because of the tariffs imposed by the U.S., Americans will pay more for groceries, gas, and cars, and potentially lose thousands of jobs,” Trudeau concluded. “Tariffs will disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship. They will violate the very trade agreement that was negotiated by President Trump in his last term.”

Trump has long described tariffs as being paid by the countries targeted by them. However, the tariffs are paid by the importing entities, which typically offset the higher costs by passing them onto consumers in the form of higher prices.