President Trump said he would impose reciprocal tariffs on Canada on Friday or next week, much sooner than the April 2 start date he previously announced.
Mr. Trump, speaking Friday in the Oval Office, repeated his commitment to using tariffs to equalize trade imbalances with other countries, in particular Canada, which charges steep levies on U.S. lumber and dairy.
“They will be met with the exact same tariff, unless they drop it,” Mr. Trump said.
The president said that besides affecting Canada, his reciprocal tariffs will cover goods from an array of other nations.
Mr. Trump is particularly irked with Canadian trade practices. The country imposes limits and tariffs on many U.S. imports, with more than 250% on milk, cheese, butter and other dairy products that exceed limits.
The U.S. has accused Canada of subsidizing its lumber industry and dumping the product in the U.S. while limiting American sales of lumber across the northern border.
Canadian officials say its trade imbalance with America, which amounted to $63 billion last year, is due mostly to heavy Canadian oil exports into the U.S.
The April 2 plan for reciprocal tariffs remains on track, Mr. Trump said, telling reporters in the Oval Office the U.S. has been “absolutely ripped off by almost every country in the world” when it comes to trade.
The president said India charges “massive tariffs” on U.S. goods, but that country “wants to cut its tariffs way down now” as reciprocal tariffs loom.
Mr. Trump said the tariffs will return business to the U.S. after it disappeared from the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. He said 90,000 factories have vanished from America since then.
“We’re not going to have that,” Mr. Trump said. He cited the creation of 10,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs in February and took credit for the increase.
“That hasn’t happened in a long time,” Mr. Trump said.
His tariff policy has shifted over the past week.
He imposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico but days later carved out exceptions for auto manufacturers and for all goods included in the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement from his first term.
On Friday, Mr. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Russia, which is launching missile strikes against Ukraine in spite of Mr. Trump’s bid to establish a peace agreement.
