Canada weighs ‘all options’ to respond if Trump’s 50% tariffs go ahead

For more coverage on Trump’s tariffs, click here:

• How booze became a battleground in the Canada-U.S. trade war
• How Trump’s new 50% tariffs could hit Canada’s already battered job market
• A list of all the Canadian products Trump wants to hit with 50% tariffs

Canada is “looking at all options” on how to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 50 per cent tariffs on most Canadian goods, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday.

“We will look at all options in terms of how we would respond if they do come into effect. That’s part of what we’ll be discussing with premiers,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa.

Carney said he also spoke with Trump on the latest threat. “We agreed to intensify discussions,” he said.

The decision to withdraw U.S. alcohol from the shelves was one taken by the provinces, he said.

“The provinces individually took those decisions in response to a series of tariffs that were put in place and also threats to our sovereignty. Those measures have been supported by provincial citizens. They’re supported and it’s indicative in terms of other consumption habits,” Carney added.

6:32 “We can dismantle the U.S.”: Doug Ford, other Canadian premiers react to Trump 50% tariff threat

Trump’s decision to impose 50 per cent tariffs on the vast majority of Canadian goods in response to “discriminatory” measures, including provincial boycotts of American booze, will risk “further escalation” of the trade war with Canada, a U.S. alcohol industry body is warning.

The U.S. said Monday it will be imposing an additional 50 per cent tariff on Canadian imports due to retaliatory and “discriminatory” measures Canada took in response to Trump’s tariffs last year.

Trump signed three executive orders, each one using a different justification for the new tariff: the provincial and territorial boycotts on American alcohol products, Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles and auto parts and quotas on American dairy imports under Canada’s supply management system.

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The U.S. booze industry group said they “appreciate” the Trump administration’s recognition of the “significant damage” Canadian restrictions had caused to U.S. distillers.

“We had hoped, however, that this issue could be resolved without further escalation,” said Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

Trump’s tariffs “deepens trade tensions and raises the risk of further retaliation at a time when many U.S. hospitality businesses continue to face financial hardships,” Swonger said in a statement.

The group urged both sides to de-escalate the trade war.

“We encourage policymakers on both sides of the border to pursue a negotiated solution that restores market access for U.S. spirits and avoids further harm to the U.S. hospitality sector,” Swonger said.

B.C. Premier David Eby said “the idea of the president that he can bully us into whatever he wishes is incorrect.”

“There is not a chance in hell that U.S. alcohol is going back on the shelf in British Columbia,” Eby said on Tuesday.

Canada should not make decisions “out of a sense of desperation or anxiety or what’s going to come next,” he said.

“No deal is better than a bad deal with the Americans,” Eby added.

Saskatchewan, along with Alberta, is among the provinces that do not have prohibitions on the sale of American alcohol.

The decision on whether or not to revoke those bans is up to individual provinces, Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe said.

“The ultimate goal isn’t to counter-tariff and further weaken the North American economy. The ultimate goal is to get to a renewed agreement,” Moe said.

It was important for Canadians to recognize the “a pattern that repeatedly occurs” when the U.S. announces new tariffs against Canada, Moe said.

“Each and every time that happens, they are very vague in what that announcement is. And every province, and in fairness the federal government, takes some time to go through and see what the actual impact is, which industries are impacted by those tariffs,” he said.

It was now “time for us to intensify our negotiations” on a renewed free trade deal, he said.

0:53 Trump hits Canada with new 50% tariff over ‘discriminatory’ trade actions

Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor Josh Shapiro said Trump’s latest tariffs will hurt farmers and businesses in the state.

“Canada is our Commonwealth’s largest trading partner — and these knee-jerk, reckless tariffs are hurting our economy, jacking up costs for Pennsylvania families, and closing off markets for our businesses,” Shapiro said on social media.

Domestic trade and major projects will be on the agenda as Canada’s premiers gather Tuesday in Prince Edward Island for a three-day meeting coloured by a renewed tariff threat from Trump.

The annual summer gathering of provincial and territorial leaders will culminate with Prime Minister Mark Carney joining the discussion Thursday. The premiers will also meet with Indigenous leaders later Tuesday.

Key issues among the provinces have included efforts to cut down any remaining barriers to internal trade and advocate for big infrastructure projects that could bring investment and jobs to their regions.

But there’s also fresh economic uncertainty after Trump’s decision to impose 50 per cent tariffs on certain Canadian products within 30 days.

–with files from The Canadian Press