U.S. slaps import duties on Canadian steel and aluminum

Canada will be hit with American import duties on aluminum and steel starting midnight.

And we’re not alone.

The U.S. is slapping the tariffs on Mexican and European Union exports as well.

According to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross the decision to impose the tariffs on Canada and Mexico was based on the lack of progress in ongoing NAFTA talks.

Ross noted negotiations are taking longer than the U.S. had hoped.

Ottawa has vowed retaliatory action, and Ross says any measures Canada might take would not affect the ability to keep renegotiating NAFTA.

Mexico says it will respond with tariffs of its own on pork bellies, apples, grapes, cheeses and flat steel among other things.

The EU has also vowed to respond with its own countermeasures.