U.S. tariffs mean NAFTA talks have ‘fallen through the floor:’ senior Canadian official

A senior Canadian government official says Donald Trump’s decision to end an exemption for Canada and Mexico from tariffs on steel and aluminum exports mean the chances of ever striking a new NAFTA deal have “just fallen through the floor.”

The U-S president defended the tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum on Friday — repeating his claim that NAFTA has been a terrible deal for the U-S, allowing Canada and Mexico to make “many billions of dollars” at the expense of Americans.

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Chrystia Freeland encouraged by some angry responses out of U.S. after Trump imposed new tariffs on Canada

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Canada hits back at U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs

Trump also resurrected his idea of negotiating separate bilateral trade pacts with Canada and Mexico, saying a trilateral deal doesn’t make sense because all three countries are very different. But Canadian officials say the federal government remains committed to NAFTA.

READ MORE: Canada files WTO challenge of U.S. tariffs, vows to work with EU to oppose trade war

Prime Minister Trudeau says Canada will retaliate for the U-S tariffs by imposing 16.6 billion dollars worth of “countermeasures” that hit a range of U-S products, from flat-rolled steel to playing cards.