Although its northern neighbors have been targeted since his return to the White House, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Canada is willing to remove tariffs if the US does. Indeed, the country is set to face increased United States import taxes as it seeks to balance trade.
For the last several weeks, United States President Donald Trump has championed April 2nd as ‘Liberation Day.’ Indeed, it is set to see the nation institute a bevy of reciprocal import taxes on various nations. Ahead of the announcement, nations are preparing their response to the expected action.
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Canada Is Willing to Remove Tariffs on US Goods, Politician Says
Since his return to the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump has leaned into the potential of tariffs. First, he targeted the BRICS economic alliance with 150% tariffs. Those were set to be levied if the group continued its ongoing de-dollarization practices. However, quickly into his second term, he shifted focus, implementing tariffs on his North American allies.
Now, he is set to expand the rather aggressive economic policy even further. With global reciprocal import taxes expected to be announced Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has given an interesting response. Specifically, he confirmed that Canada would be willing to remove tariffs on the US if the nation responded in kind.
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Ford has been outspoken in his disappreciation for the Trump plan. Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press, he said the “only acceptable thing is zero tariffs.” The statement comes after Ford and Canadian officials said they were prepared to introduce an additional $65 billion in retaliatory tariffs in response to the Trump administration.
“Yes, we’re going to retaliate,” Ford said. “We’re going to retaliate appropriately, but hard as well.” Moreover, speaking of the proposed $65 billion duties response, Ford said it “is going to hurt, and it’s going to hurt a lot. That’s the last thing we want to do. We just aren’t going to roll over.”
He noted that the country has “no choice” but to answer the policy. However, it is now confirmed that they are willing to remove their US goods tariffs if the United States was able to do the same. Conversely, nations like Israel and India have already removed their tariffs ahead of the Trump announcement today.