Canada PM Trudeau retaliates against US' tariff imposition on steel and aluminium imports

The US administration has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union (EU).

The imposition became effective from Thursday midnight.

Countering Trump administration, Trudeau has imposed tariffs on imported steel, aluminium and other products from the US.

In a tweet onThursday, Trudeau said: "Canada will impose tariffs against imports of steel, aluminum, and other products from the US – we are imposing dollar for dollar tariffs for every dollar levied against Canadians by the US."

Criticised the US' move to impose tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, the Canadian PM tweeted, "American tariffs on Canadian aluminum & steel are unacceptable. As we have said, we will always stand up for our workers, and today we’re announcing retaliatory measures to this attack on our industry."

Canada's imposition of tariffs became effective from Friday.

Trump originally imposed tariffs in March and had earlier exempted Canada, Mexico and the EU to buy time for negotiations. However, the negotiation time has expired on Thursday.

Trudeau also lashed out at the US over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He criticised the White House for viewing trade with Canada as a threat to the US' national security.

The PM tweeted, "Canada will also challenge these illegal & counterproductive measures under NAFTA Chapter 20 and at the WTO. It is simply ridiculous to view any trade with Canada as a national security threat to the US and we will continue to stand up for Canadian workers & Canadian businesses."

(Reporting by Suman Das)