Justin Trudeau's governmentfinalized tariffs on C$16.6 billion (US$12.6 billion) of Americangoods and pledged money to support companies and workers hurt byU.S. levies on Canadian steel and aluminumexports.Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland announced on Fridayfinal measures that take effect on Canada's July 1 nationalholiday. Products like beer kegs, mustard, and certain jams wereremoved from the final list, which otherwise doesn't stray far froman earlier proposal.The tariffs mirror the value of those imposedby President Donald Trump's administration. Canada will apply a 25percent tariff on steel products, and 10 percent on aluminum andconsumer goods. The levies will remain in effect until the U.S.eliminates its tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

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• See also: Tensions Flare Between U.S. andCanada

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“We will not escalate, and we will not back down,” Freeland toldreporters at a steel mill in Hamilton, Ontario. “We are acting invery close collaboration with our like-minded partners in theEuropean Union and Mexico.” She also reiterated the U.S. measuresare “illegal” and America has a trade surplus with Canada on ironand steel.Canada will provide as much as C$2 billion in assistancefor affected workers, including plans to expand a work-sharingprogram and enhancements to a corporate innovation fund, similar tosteps the government took to cushion the impact of a softwoodlumber spat.

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Quotas Coming?

The country is also said to be preparing a further set of quotasand tariffs on steel from other countries, to prevent dumping ordiversion after the U.S. tariffs kicked in. Innovation MinisterNavdeep Bains said Friday alongside Freeland that he will act soonon that file, while declining to provide details of how it wouldwork.The tariff response is the latest development in an escalating spat between the two countries,which trade more than $500 billion in goods annually. The U.S. andCanada are also in talks to update the North American Free TradeAgreement (NAFTA), which also includes Mexico.The Americans haveapplied tariffs to Canadian softwood lumber, and are threatening todo so on autos. The latter move is seen as a major threat toCanadian growth and to the North American auto sector, since U.S.carmakers rely heavily on supply chains that include its twoneighbors.

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