{"text":[[{"start":10.4,"text":"Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 50 per cent on US$20bn worth of US imports a day after Donald Trump said he would raise duties on Canadian cars, in the latest salvo of an escalating trade war between the two neighbours."}],[{"start":24.82,"text":"Finance minister François-Philippe Champagne on Tuesday issued a 99-page list of hundreds of US goods that will face increased levies in Canada from September 8 including steel, dairy products and agricultural equipment."}],[{"start":38.34,"text":"“When the US asked too much and offered too little, we chose to stand up for Canadians,” said Champagne, referring to the trade talks that collapsed on Friday."}],[{"start":46.82,"text":"Canada’s move follows months of tortured trade talks between Washington and Ottawa and comes as the US president steps up rhetorical attacks on the US’s northern neighbour."}],[{"start":56.68,"text":"But the trade tensions come at a perilous moment for the US economy, with the White House battling stubborn inflation and increasing voter unhappiness over its handling of the economy weeks before crucial midterm elections."}],[{"start":68.64,"text":"Canada will impose counter-tariffs of 15, 25 or 50 per cent on US products, matching the rates applied to the same categories of Canadian exports by Washington."}],[{"start":78.82,"text":"Trade analysts said that while Canada’s response was proportional, the fresh duties would create more uncertainty for American and Canadian businesses."}],[{"start":86.72,"text":"“This is a standard tit-for-tat and classic proportional response,” said Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, who said the measures seemed designed to reset negotiations."}],[{"start":97.92,"text":"Ottawa also on Tuesday announced a new $5.5bn package to bail out Canadian businesses and workers hurt by Trump’s barrage of levies."}],[{"start":106.54,"text":"Champagne said: “Our dollar-for-dollar, rate-for-rate counter-tariffs as well as a multibillion-dollar support package will protect workers, farmers, families and businesses as we build a stronger, more resilient and more diversified Canadian economy.”"}],[{"start":120.52,"text":"In a press conference, industry minister Mélanie Joly said the federal government would be “flexible and adaptable” to the needs of Canadian businesses."}],[{"start":128.42,"text":"She also urged Canadians to pitch in by supporting local businesses that will bear the brunt of the latest US measures."}],[{"start":135.56,"text":"“When you choose a Canadian product, you’re not only putting pressure on the US, you’re protecting Canadian jobs,” she said."}],[{"start":142.9,"text":"Trump launched tariffs targeting $20bn worth of Canadian goods that went into effect on Saturday after Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended trade talks with the US late the previous night."}],[{"start":155.908,"text":"The US president on Monday said he would increase tariffs on Canadian cars and automotive parts beginning on January 1, and on Tuesday he threatened to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America”."}],[{"start":167.46,"text":"Derek Nighbor, president of the Forest Products Association of Canada, said the country’s forestry sector had been one of the hardest hit by Trump’s tariffs."}],[{"start":176.58,"text":"“Duties and tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of our products now range from 25 per cent to 85 per cent,” he told the FT."}],[{"start":184.62,"text":"“The addition of Section 338 tariffs over the weekend make immediate federal support essential to help keep facilities operating and employees connected to their places of work.”"}],[{"start":194.76,"text":"Robert Wolfe, professor emeritus at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, said Canada’s response was “the minimum they could do”."}],[{"start":202.86,"text":"“They can’t not respond with what Trump is doing,” Wolfe said. “They’re reciprocal tariffs,” he added, referring to the name Trump gave to his steep levies first issued in April last year."}],[{"start":217.38,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787703855_6477.mp3"}