WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he is considering a lower tariff on Canadian oil as the White House confirmed he is going forward with 25 per cent levies on imports from Canada on Saturday.
As he signed executive actions in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump was asked directly if he intends to hit Canadian crude with tariffs.
"I'm probably going to reduce the tariff a little bit on that," Trump said. "I think we're going to bring it down to 10 per cent on the oil."
While answering a different question, Trump also floated the idea of oil tariffs coming on Feb. 18. It was not clear if that statement was in relation to Canada.
The prospect of a lower levy on oil likely offers little relief to Canadian officials in Washington, D.C. making a final diplomatic push to convince Republican lawmakers and Trump's team to sway the president.
The president said there is nothing that Canada, Mexico or China can do to prevent the tariffs from being implemented.
"We have big deficits and it's something we are doing. We'll, we'll possibly very substantially increase it or not, we'll see how it is," Trump said.
While the president wasn't clear on the details of his tariff plan, he repeated his complaints about trade deficits and again linked the duties to fentanyl entering the United States.
Earlier Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada is ready to deliver a "purposeful, forceful but reasonable immediate" response to the tariffs. The federal government has said it has multiple options for retaliatory tariffs ready to deploy, depending on what Trump ultimately does.
Trump claimed tariffs don't cause inflation. He acknowledged Friday that "there could be some temporary short-term disruption" but said "people will understand that.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday denied Trump's tariffs would cause a trade war.
It will be up to the president to decide when or how to roll the tariffs back, Leavitt said.
Trump will hit Mexico and Canada with 25 per cent tariffs and China will see an additional 10 per cent tariff, Leavitt said. She also linked the duties to fentanyl entering the United States.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that while her government awaits a tariff announcement with a "cool head," it also has prepared plans to respond.
The volume of drugs entering the United States from Canada is minuscule compared to the amounts coming from Mexico and China.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures show that officials seized 9,930 kilograms of fentanyl at American borders between October 2023 and September 2024. Only 20 kilograms of that amount came from Canada.
Trudeau met with a Canada-U.S. cabinet committee Friday as Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty and Immigration Minister Marc Miller made a last-ditch attempt to stop Trump's tariff plan in Washington, D.C.
It's not clear whether Republicans can affect the president's actions. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday it's ultimately Trump's call.
The tariffs are “not hostile moves," Rubio said on The Megyn Kelly Show, adding he doesn’t think Canada poses a strategic threat to the United States. Pointing to his meeting with Joly earlier this week, Rubio said Canada and the U.S. have shared interests along the border.
“They’re good friends. I mean, we work with them on a lot of things,” he said. “We have a deep partnership with them … but there are some issues we’re going to need to address.”
Trump initially claimed his tariff threat was in response to a failure by Canada and Mexico to curb the illegal flow of people and drugs across the border. His complaints have since expanded to include trade deficits and national defence spending.
Canada responded to Trump's concerns with a $1.3 billion border security plan.
Trudeau, speaking before the meeting of the Council on Canada-U.S. Relations in Toronto on Friday, said devastating duties are "not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act."
Trudeau said Canada "could be facing difficult times in the coming days and weeks."
"I won't sugar-coat it," he said.
Premiers have disagreed on how Canada should respond if Trump follows through on his threats. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe have said exports of oil and other resources should not be included in retaliation plans.
Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford called for a dollar-to-dollar tariff response during a campaign stop in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Ultimately, Ford said, provincial and territorial leaders remain united.
"We have to show strength, being united, and emphasize to the federal government that we have to retaliate hard. Not soft, hard," Ford said.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2025.
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
