Canada hits US auto sector with tariffs, mirroring trump’s move

Canada will put 25% retaliatory tariffs on US-made vehicles in response to the Trump administration's import taxes on foreign autos, Prime Minister Mark Carney said today (3 April).

The Canadian tariffs will apply only to vehicles that aren't compliant with US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and on the "non-Canadian content" in cars and trucks that are shipped under the rules of that trade deal. In other words, the Canadian taxes mirror the structure of the US auto tariffs. 

Canada was spared President Donald Trump's so-called "reciprocal tariffs" announced on Wednesday, but new 25% US tariffs on foreign-produced autos still took effect early Thursday morning. For Canada, those tariffs apply to the non-US content of finished vehicles. 

Canada's auto sector is heavily integrated with the US and stands to take a blow from Trump's tariffs. Stellantis NV, owner of the Jeep and Chrysler brands, has already announced it will shut down its Windsor, Ontario, assembly plant for two weeks as it sorts through the impact, the company said in a memo to employees.

Hefty US levies also remain on products that do not comply with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, as well as all steel and aluminum products. Trump has also threatened to add new duties on pharmaceutical drugs, semiconductors, copper and lumber.