(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump took to social media Tuesday to warn Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that additional tariffs could follow the 25% duty added to imports from Canada.
“Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!” Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social.
That came after Trump posted “IF COMPANIES MOVE TO THE UNITED STATES, THERE ARE NO TARIFFS!!!”
Trump’s posts were in response to Trudeau’s comments during an earlier news conference. Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported goods from Mexico and Canada took effect Tuesday, putting the U.S. at odds with its top trading partners as consumers worry about higher prices on a wide range of products.
Canada responded with plans to put 25% tariffs on nearly $100 billion of U.S. imports.
Trudeau said the tariffs were unjustified.
“Let me be unequivocally clear – there is no justification for these actions,” he said.
Trump has said the tariffs will remain in place until Mexico and Canada tighten border security to stop the flow of people and drugs, particularly fentanyl, across the border. At the same time, Trump has said tariffs will make the U.S. “rich as hell” and shift the tax burden from Americans to foreign countries.
On Tuesday, Trudeau noted that Canada has taken action to address those border issues.
“While less than 1 percent of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada, we have worked relentlessly to address this scourge that affects Canadians and Americans alike,” the prime minister said in a statement. “We implemented a $1.3 billion border plan with new choppers, boots on the ground, more co-ordination, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl. We appointed a Fentanyl Czar, listed transnational criminal cartels as terrorist organizations, launched the Joint Operational Intelligence Cell, and are establishing a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force on organized crime.”
He added: “Because of this work – in partnership with the United States – fentanyl seizures from Canada have dropped 97% between December 2024 and January 2025 to a near-zero low of 0.03 pounds seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”
Trudeau said Canada will respond with 25% tariffs against $155 billion of American goods. Canada will start with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion on American products in 21 days.
“Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, and should U.S. tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures,” Trudeau said. “While we urge the U.S. administration to reconsider their tariffs, Canada remains firm in standing up for our economy, our jobs, our workers, and for a fair deal.”
Trudeau said the trade measures would raise prices for Americans at grocery stores, gas pumps, and automobile dealerships.
The U.S. tariffs come after a 30-day pause that also jolted world markets. On Feb. 1, Trump ended decades of duty-free trade between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada with a 25% tariff on imported goods from the two countries, with a lower 10% tariff on Canadian energy resources. Trump said he’d keep the tariffs in place until the illegal fentanyl trade subsided. He also added a 10% tariff on imports from China over that country’s role in producing the chemicals needed to make fentanyl, a powerful opioid blamed for the majority of U.S. overdose deaths. Two days after hitting U.S. neighbors with tariffs, Trump relented after reaching 30-day deals with both Mexico and Canada.
Trump has taken to calling Trudeau “governor” and repeatedly expressed a desire to make Canada part of the U.S.
Trudeau said Canada has no plans to become part of its southern neighbor.
“Canada will never be the 51st state,” the prime minister said.
