OTTAWA — Canada is breathing a cautious sigh of relief after
the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled
that U.S. President Donald Trump does not have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs or fentanyl-related duties on its trading partners.
Prime Minister Mark Carney shared his position in the House of Commons, where he delivered remarks on the debate in reply to the speech from the throne.
“The government welcomes yesterday’s decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade which is consistent with Canada’s longstanding position that the U.S. IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariffs were unlawful as well as unjustified,” he said.
“That said, we recognize that our trading relationship with the United States is still profoundly and adversely threatened and affected by similarly unjustified 232 tariffs against steel, aluminum and the auto sector, as well as continuing threats of tariffs against other strategic sectors including lumber, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.”
The court decision, delivered on Wednesday, marks the first major legal pushback to Trump’s broad use of tariffs to upend global trade. But Carney hinted that Canada does not intend to rest on its laurels and must diversify its trading relations with other allies.
“It therefore remains the top priority of Canada’s new government to establish a new economic and security relationship with the United States and to strengthen our collaboration with reliable trading partners and allies around the world,” he said.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a statement on X the fact that the court has struck down tariffs on some Canadian goods is “good news” and urged similar caution.
“We need true free trade — so workers earn more, prices fall, and businesses boom on both sides of the border,” he wrote.
“But we can no longer put all our eggs in the U.S. basket. Too risky. Canada must fire up free enterprise to build pipelines, powerlines, ports, rail, roads, and tech — so we are strong, self-reliant and sovereign for a change.”
Trump hit Canada with economy-wide tariffs in March after he declared an emergency at the northern border related to the flow of fentanyl.
More to come…
National Post,
with additional reporting by the Canadian Press
calevesque@postmedia.com
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