But Canada remains committed to the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which is the world’s second-largest free trade agreement by trading volume, Carney said in a statement posted on the Prime Minister’s official website.
He said that while the US average tariff rate on Canadian goods remains one of its lowest due to CUSMA, other sectors, including lumber, steel, aluminum and automobiles, will be heavily affected by the tariffs.
“For such sectors, the Canadian government will act to protect Canadian jobs, invest in our industrial competitiveness, buy Canadian, and diversify our export markets,” he said.
“The United States has justified its most recent trade action on the basis of the cross-border flow of fentanyl, despite the fact that Canada accounts for only 1 per cent of US fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes,” the Prime Minister said.
A White House statement said that goods transhipped to another country to evade the new tariffs will be subject to a transhipment levy of 40 per cent.
The increased tariff was the result of Canada's ‘continued inaction and retaliation’, the US government said.
“We will continue to negotiate with the United States on our trading relationship,” Carney added.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
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