Trump threatens ‘large scale’ tariffs on Canada, EU

U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening “large scale” tariffs on Canada and the European Union after announcing a fresh round of tariffs on auto imports that will hit next week.

In a post early Thursday on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “If the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both in order to protect the best friend that each of those two countries has ever had!”

This new warning comes after Trump signed an executive order Wednesday for 25 per cent tariffs on all foreign-made cars and light trucks, in addition to tariffs already in place on those goods.

The auto tariffs that are set to go into effect April 2 will not apply on U.S.-made parts in foreign-made vehicles, according to the order.

The executive order stated that Trump was taking action to protect the American automobile industry, which it claimed is “vital to national security and has been undermined by excessive imports.”

The U.S. has so far imposed 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods, as well as an additional 25 per cent on steel and aluminum imports and a 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy imports.

Global “reciprocal” tariffs on all foreign imports, including from Canada, are also planned for April 2, which is when the auto tariffs are set to take effect.

Canada has already responded to Trump’s trade actions with counter-tariffs on almost $60 billion worth of American goods, which were announced in retaliation for the 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods and a subsequent round that was retaliation for the steel and aluminum tariffs.

5:36 The tariff clock is ticking on Canada’s auto industry

Liberal Party Leader Mark Carney had to press pause on his election campaign, returning to Ottawa Wednesday night for a cabinet committee meeting on Canada-U.S. relations Thursday. He was originally supposed to fly to Quebec City.

Carney and his cabinet ministers, who are also running for re-election as Liberal candidates in their respective ridings, retain caretaker responsibilities as the current prime minister and cabinet ministers.

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Under the caretaker convention, Carney can still act in the prime ministerial capacity during an election campaign but is expected to restrain any actions to matters that are routine, non-controversial, reversible, agreed to by opposition parties or “urgent and in the public interest.”

Speaking at a campaign stop in Kitchener, Ont., on Wednesday, Carney said Trump’s auto tariffs are a “direct attack” on Canadian workers.

“Ties of kinship, ties of commerce, ties that are in the process of being broken,” he said. “This will hurt us but through this period, by being together, we will emerge stronger.”

“We will take steps that are in the interests of Canadian workers,” Carney said, adding “we’ll fight in a unified way.”

2:20 Trump announces 25% tariff on imported cars

Before Trump’s announcement Wednesday, Carney unveiled his party’s plan for the country’s auto sector, pledging to build an “all in Canada” network and create a $2-billion “strategic response fund” to help protect the jobs of Canadian workers affected by the U.S. trade war.

Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, who is campaigning for re-election as the Liberal candidate for Saint-Maurice—Champlain, said the Liberals will support workers and stand up to the U.S.

“What President Trump has been doing is going to bring inflation in the United States. It’s going to have the impact of having higher price for U.S. consumers and at the same time, it’s going lower competitiveness in the United States,” Champagne said before heading into the cabinet committee meeting Thursday.

“What we have to do is to fight for Canada.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the tariffs were “unjustified and unprovoked” and would hurt the U.S. economy. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called Trump’s tariffs a “full-frontal attack” on auto workers.

“This is a direct attack on our workers and we’ve got to fight back like hell. We’ve got to fight back with retaliatory tariffs,” Singh said in London, Ont., on Wednesday.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said counter-tariffs on U.S. goods should be used to support Canadian businesses.

“What we have to do in order to support the businesses and companies has to come from our own counter-tariffs against American products,” Blanchet told reporters Thursday in Beloeil, Que.

“This is where the money should come from, so it’s not affecting directly the budget of the state.”

European automakers, already struggling with tepid economic growth at home and rising competition from China, on Thursday decried the U.S. import tax on cars as a heavy burden that will punish consumers and companies alike on both sides of the Atlantic.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ association said in a statement that the 25 per cent import tariffs “will hurt global automakers and US manufacturing at the same time.”

The stakes are enormous for BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Stellantis and their vast network of suppliers, as well as the entire European economy.

The U.S. is the biggest export destination for the European auto industry. In 2023, European automakers exported 56 billion euros worth of vehicles and parts to the U.S.

Europe’s auto industry supports 13.8 million jobs, or 6.1 per cent of total EU employment.

— with files from Global News’ Sean Previl and Isaac Callan and The Associated Press