Canada hits back with $20.7 billion in tariffs after Trump's metal levy

# Canada hits back with $20.7 billion in tariffs after Trump's metal levy

Event date: March 12, 2025 - Ottawa announced retaliatory duties after Washington imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Trade fight widens after U.S. metals duties

Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced retaliatory tariffs on 29.8 billion Canadian dollars, or about $20.7 billion, of U.S. goods after President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent levy on steel and aluminum imports. DW reported that the new Canadian tariffs were scheduled to take effect on Thursday morning.

The list of affected products is broad. According to the report, the tariffs would hit items such as computers, sports equipment and cast iron products. LeBlanc called the U.S. tariffs "unjustified and unreasonable," underscoring how quickly the dispute has escalated into a direct political confrontation.

The U.S. metal duties are also significant because Canada is the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States. The report says the 25 percent charges would likely raise the cost of producing goods ranging from drink cans and home appliances to automobiles. That means the policy could ripple through consumer prices as well as industrial supply chains.

The trade conflict is not confined to Canada. DW said the European Union also announced countermeasures against some U.S. goods on the same day, while Mexico's president said her government would wait for a possible resolution before retaliating immediately. The new duties also stack on top of earlier ones, meaning some Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum products could face a 50 percent rate unless they are compliant with the USMCA trade deal.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and LeBlanc were due in Washington for talks with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about revising the trade framework. The report also noted that Ontario had suspended an electricity surcharge that was part of an earlier retaliation. That temporary pause appears to have helped prevent an even larger escalation, but it did not stop the tariff fight.

The broader context is a market and political climate already on edge. The report says Wall Street indexes had fallen for a second straight day as Trump's tariff plans fed concern about recession risk. U.S. steel producers, by contrast, welcomed the tariffs and said they would support domestic investment and jobs.

The immediate story is simple: Canada answered U.S. metal tariffs with its own duties, and the trade dispute moved one step further from warning to retaliation.