Trudeau tells Trump that tariffs are ‘very dumb,’ says Canada striking back

By David Ljunggren and Promit Mukherjee

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday that his new tariffs on Canadian imports were “a very dumb thing to do” and said Ottawa was striking back immediately.

Trudeau, speaking hours after Trump launched a trade war against Mexico and Canada, said Canada was imposing immediate 25% tariffs on C$30 billion worth of U.S. imports and if need be would target another C$125 billion worth in 21 days’ time.

“There is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today,” Trudeau told reporters, adding that Canada would challenge the U.S. measures at the World Trade Organization and through the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

Trump declared Canada had failed to do enough to stem the flow of the deadly fentanyl opioid and its precursor chemicals into the U.S., an argument Trudeau called “completely bogus, completely unjustified, completely false”.

Trudeau, who will