Canada prepares billions of dollars in retaliation for Trump’s tariff threat

The Canadian government is preparing multibillion-dollar retaliatory measures against U.S. exports to Canada if President-elect Donald J. Trump follows through on his threat to impose tariffs on Canadian products, creating a potential confrontation between two countries that are each other’s largest traders. partners.

Canada lists measures, including tariffs on U.S. exports to Canada and levies or other restrictions on major Canadian exports to the United States. if Mr. Trump imposes massive 25 percent tariffs on Canadian products.

But the government has made clear it will wait to see what Mr. Trump might do before reacting.

“Everything is on the table,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference in Ottawa, accompanied by senior officials from his government and the leaders of most countries. The provinces and territories of Canada. Mr. Trudeau spent most of Wednesday talking with provincial leaders about how best to prepare for possible U.S. tariffs.

For now, the Canadian government assumes that Mr. Trump is serious about the tariffs, which he has linked to the flow of undocumented migrants and drugs across the Canada-U.S. border.

Canada has already announced a series of measures intended to strengthen the border, including increasing personnel and technology. The government announced Wednesday it would also deploy Blackhawk helicopters and more drones to step up surveillance of the shared border.