According to foreign media reports, recently, Canadian Prime Minister candidate Chrystia Freeland proposed that Canada should impose a 100% tariff on imported Tesla cars on a broader basis of retaliatory tariffs in response to the 25% tariff imposed by the United States on Canadian goods.
Chrystia Freeland recently resigned as Canada’s deputy prime minister to run for Liberal leadership and became a potential successor to incumbent Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau.
“We are targeting U.S. stakeholders who have an influence on the White House. I propose a 100% tariff on all Tesla cars. I also call on all countries affected by Trump’s tariff policy to join us, and our retaliatory tariffs will target certain groups of Trump’s supporters.”
The proposal elicited a different response. Some people think it is unfair to target Tesla directly. Others think this is reasonable because Tesla CEO Musk pushed Trump to be elected, and Trump is now betraying the US-Mexico Free Trade Agreement, which was just signed a few years ago.
US President Trump has recently confirmed a 25% import tariff on all Canadian goods except energy (10% energy tariff) and a 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico.
In response, the Canadian government is placing a 25% tariff on US$155 billion worth of US dollars imported goods, and the first batch of US$30 billion worth of goods will be taxed immediately, effective from March 4, 2025. If the United States introduces new tariff measures, Canada’s scope of counter-tariffs may also be further expanded. The Canadian government said this was not the result that Canada expected, but a response must be made to protect Canada’s economy and jobs.
Canadian Treasury Secretary LeBlanc also announced that the Canadian government intends to take additional countermeasures on $125 billion worth of goods imported from the United States if the United States continues to impose unreasonable tariffs on Canada. The list of goods targeted by these countermeasures has been released, including electric vehicles, fruits and vegetables, beef, pork, dairy products, electronics, steel, aluminum, trucks and buses, and will have a 21-day consultation period.