Ottawa details list of U.S. tariff targets, offers up to $2B in support

back at the U.S. in response to hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum, 25 per cent and 10 per cent respectively, imposed last month by Trump.

Freeland called the legal pretext used by the U.S. to impose the duties — that Canada poses a national security threat — “not only absurd, it’s hurtful.”

“We are perfectly within our rights to respond,” said Freeland, who was joined at the announcement by Trudeau cabinet colleagues Patty Hajdu and Navdeep Bains.

There are fears, however, that Canadian tariffs — some of which target businesses in states that are important to Trump and his supporters — could lead to fresh trade action from the U.S.

Trump himself has already threatened to put tariffs on the automotive sector, which could prove far worse for the Canadian economy than the steel and aluminum duties.

Peter Clark, an Ottawa trade consultant, said U.S. automotive tariffs would be a “disaster — pure, unmitigated disaster” for Canada.

Freeland, asked whether she feared the U.S. would escalate matters, recalled a public comment she made right before the start of NAFTA negotiations — another tough Canada-U.S. trade file. At the time, she said she told Canadians the federal government expected “moments of drama in this process.”

“I think that prediction has been borne out,” she said. “I think all of us, at this point, fully anticipate there will be some moments of drama in the future.”

Ohio-based trade lawyer Dan Ujczo said he believes there’s a significant chance Trump will introduce auto tariffs to some degree, although he predicted they could target the European Union rather than Canada.

Overall, Ujczo said Canada’s retaliatory tariffs have been baked into the White House’s calculus for months. The situation means it’s now a top priority for stalled NAFTA talks to get moving as soon as possible, he said.

The U.S. tariffs, he insisted, are inextricably intertwined with the NAFTA negotiations. And at the end of the day, Ujczo added the Trump administration’s overarching objective of the talks has been to stop Canada and Mexico from being the back door to North America for Chinese goods, like steel.