Canada says it will impose retaliatory tariffs on US imports

Trump originally imposed the tariffs on aluminum imports in 2018. He then lifted them last year on Canadian and Mexican metals to smooth the way for the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The new pact took effect July 1 and was expected to bring stability to North American trade The new tariff spat comes after the U.S. in 2018 imposed a 25 per cent duty on steel and a 10 per cent duty on aluminum.

Canada responded with tariffs on hundreds of US products such as ketchup, coffee, strawberry jam and whisky before the two countries dropped their efforts and agreed to the new North American free trade deal.

Trump said Thursday that he was re-implementing tariffs because there was a surge in aluminum exports from Canada to the US in recent months, but industry organisations dispute that claim.

Aluminum imports from Canada rose sharply from February to March but have since levelled off and dropped 2.6 per cent from May to June, according to the Aluminum Association trade group.