Ottawa has issued a stern warning that it will impose “tit-for-tat” tariffs on American goods such as steel and orange juice if US President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his threat to impose a 25% levy on Canadian imports. Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, made it clear that while the country seeks cooperation with the US on confronting China, it will not tolerate damaging tariffs on its exports, Financial Times reports.
Wilkinson stated that any retaliatory measures would target products that would cause significant disruption in the United States while minimizing the impact on Canada. Potential targets could include steel from Michigan or orange juice from Florida, goods that are likely to generate political and economic fallout in key US states.
Trump, who is set to be sworn in as president on Monday, previously proposed the 25% tariff on all Canadian imports, citing concerns over illegal migration and drug trafficking in North America. Despite the looming trade tensions, Wilkinson expressed Canada’s willingness to work with the US on broader security matters, including purchasing military equipment and ramping up the production of critical minerals in Canada to reduce reliance on Chinese supplies.
“There are opportunities for us to procure a lot of the go-forward military equipment, like the submarines from the United States. And certainly, we are open to that as part of the broader conversation,” Wilkinson explained in an interview in Washington.
However, he stressed that the trade dispute with the US is ultimately a distraction from the much larger strategic challenge posed by China, which has significant control over critical global supply chains. Wilkinson pointed to China’s dominance in rare earths—key components for clean energy and defense technologies—as a pressing concern for North American allies. “The challenge that we face internationally right now, it’s not Canada-US, it’s China,” he said, adding that the two countries should consider forming an energy and minerals security partnership.
As Ottawa intensifies its lobbying efforts in Washington to persuade Trump to drop the tariff plan, economic experts have warned that such tariffs could plunge Canada into recession. Trump’s tariff proposal followed his claims that the US’s closest neighbors were failing to adequately address migration issues. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in response to the escalating threat, said that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to countermeasures. Trudeau affirmed Canada would respond firmly, echoing a sentiment of a “1-for-1” response to any tariffs.
Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith also weighed in on the issue, expressing opposition to potential export tariffs on Canadian energy. Smith, who recently met with Trump, cautioned that Alberta would not support the federal government’s approach unless the threats of tariff imposition were fully withdrawn.
With US and Canadian economies deeply intertwined, the threat of tariffs comes with far-reaching consequences. Canada supplies more than half of the US’s crude oil imports, while Washington has heavily invested in Canadian critical mineral projects to reduce its dependency on China. Wilkinson warned that tariffs would ultimately hurt US consumers, raising prices on critical goods such as gas, potash, and uranium. He raised concerns over whether the US would turn to China for such resources instead.
In a stark reminder of the tensions, Trump suggested last week that he could use “economic force” to annex Canada, calling it “much better for national security.” Wilkinson firmly rejected such remarks, asserting that Canada is a sovereign nation with its own identity, from its national pastime of hockey to its official languages of English and French. “Canadians have no interest in being Americans,” Wilkinson concluded.
