Canada to hit back if Trump follows through on tariff threat: Trudeau

OTTAWA -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that his government would hit back if incoming US President Donald Trump follows through on his tariff threat.

"We would definitely respond, as we did years ago when President Trump put tariffs on steel and aluminum. We responded by putting tariffs on Heinz ketchup, on playing cards, on bourbon, on Harley Davidsons, on things that would hurt American workers," Trudeau said in an interview on CNN.

The prime minister said Trump, a very skillful negotiator, is using talk of Canada becoming the 51st state to detract from tariff impact.

"Everything the American consumers buy from Canada is suddenly going to get a lot more expensive and that's something we need to be focusing on a little bit more," Trudeau said.

Local media reported that Canadian officials are preparing a list of American-made products to target with counter-tariffs in the event the Canadian government must respond to US tariffs on Canadian goods.

Trump has threatened to impose a 25-percent tariff on all Canadian goods imported into the United States.