OTTAWA, Apr 9 (NNN-XINHUA) – Canadian Finance Minister, François-Philippe Champagne, yesterday confirmed that, Canada’s new countermeasures announced last week, in response to the U.S. tariffs on the Canadian auto industry, will come into force at 12:01 a.m. EDT today, Apr 9. Champagne said, Canada would continue to “respond forcefully” to all unwarranted and unreasonable tariffs imposed by the United States on Canadian products.
“The government is firmly committed to getting these U.S. tariffs removed as soon as possible, and will protect Canada’s workers, businesses, economy and industry,” Champagne said in a release, issued by the Finance Ministry.
The countermeasures, announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney last week, include 25-percent tariffs on non-Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) compliant, fully-assembled vehicles imported into Canada from the United States, and 25-percent tariffs on non-Canadian and non-Mexican content of CUSMA compliant, fully-assembled vehicles imported into Canada from the United States.
A remission framework for auto producers that incentivises production and investment in Canada, and helps maintain Canadian jobs, will also be implemented, said the release.
On Apr 3, U.S. tariffs of 25 percent on Canadian automobiles came into effect, targeting the auto industry and the more than 500,000 Canadians this industry supports across the country, said the release, adding that, the United States also intends to apply 25-percent tariffs on certain automobile parts on May 3.
Vehicle imports from the United States totalled 35.6 billion Canadian dollars (25 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, said the release.– NNN-XINHUA
