US starts trade war against Canada, Ottawa imposes reciprocal tariffs against Washington

The United States has started a trade war against Canada, while Ottawa has imposed reciprocal tariffs against Washington, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters, Report informs via TASS.

"So today, the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally," he said. "The US tariffs came into effect in the early hours of this morning, and so did the Canadian response," the premier added.

Canada will be implementing 25% tariffs against 155 bln Canadian dollars ($107.4 bln) worth of American goods, starting with tariffs on 30 bln Canadian dollars worth of goods on March 4, and tariffs on the remaining 125 bln Canadian dollars of American products within 21 days, he said.

Moreover, Ottawa has filed a claim at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the introduction of the US increased tariffs on Canadian goods, Trudeau said, adding that the country would also try to resolve the situation through the trilateral US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). "On top of this we filed dispute resolution claims at the World Trade Organization and through the USMCA," he said.

Trudeau also called the introduction of American tariffs "a policy decision by the American government designed to go after the Canadian economy." "This is a trade war, yes, but Canadians are hurt. Canadians are angry. We're going to choose to not go on vacation in Florida <…>. We're going to choose to try to buy Canadian products and forgo bourbon and other classic American products," the prime minister said.