Ottawa will file a World Trade Organization claim against US President Donald Trump's tariffs and also seek redress under a regional free trade deal, a Canadian official said Sunday.
"The Canadian government clearly considers these tariffs to be a violation of trade commitments that the United States has taken," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told a briefing.
After weeks of threats, Trump on Saturday signed off on 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian imports except energy resources, which will be hit with a 10 percent levy.
"We will obviously pursue the legal recourse that we believe we have through the agreements that we share with the United States," the official said, citing the WTO and US-Mexico-Canada agreement (CUSMA) that Trump himself signed in 2018.
A review of the pact, which a Canadian official called a "gold standard agreement," was due to be held next year.
Ottawa also unveiled on Sunday a list of 1,256 American goods it plans to target in a first round of counter tariffs worth Can$30 billion starting on Tuesday.
The list includes cosmetics, appliances, tires, tools, plastics, furniture, coffee, wines and spirits, dairy and fruits.
Officials said the Canadian tariffs do not target specifically Republican states, but aim to put pressure on lawmakers with influence over Trump, who are more likely to be Republicans.
A second round of counter tariffs could be announced in the coming weeks, when total amount of the products targeted would rise to Can$155 billion (US$106 billion).
"Our hope is that the actions we have taken already will be sufficient to persuade the United States that it has gone down the wrong path and that they will reach out to work with us on how to get back to a more normal state," an official said.
"If not, the prime minister and others have indicated that all options remain on the table, and there are a suite of additional measures that could be contemplated."
Trump announces talks with Canada, Mexico
President Donald Trump said he will discuss the punishing tariffs he has levied on Canada and Mexico with both countries on Monday, after arguing that Americans may feel economic "pain" from the 25 percent duties but that it will be "worth the price."
Speaking to reporters after he flew back to Washington Sunday evening from a weekend in Florida, Trump said he was "speaking with Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau tomorrow morning, and I'm also speaking with Mexico tomorrow morning."
"I don't expect anything very dramatic," he added.
Trump has also hit China with a 10-percent tariff in addition to levies already in place.
A fervent supporter of tariffs, Trump had always maintained that their impact would be borne by foreign exporters, without being passed on to American consumers, contradicting the opinion of a broad range of experts.
Earlier Sunday he acknowledged, in a series of messages on his Truth Social network, that Americans may feel economic "pain" from his tariffs, but argued it would be "worth the price" to secure US interests.
China, Mexico and Canada are the top three US trade partners and all have vowed to retaliate when the tariffs take effect Tuesday.
"Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not!)" Trump wrote Sunday morning in all-caps on his Truth Social media platform.
"But we will Make America Great Again, and it will all be worth the price that must be paid."
Analysts expect the trade war to slow US growth and increase prices, at least in the short term, something the president had resisted acknowledging after frustration over rising costs was seen as a major factor in his 2024 election win.
Seeking to limit a spike in fuel prices, Trump has put the levy on energy imports from Canada at only 10 percent.
The president has cited illegal immigration and the trafficking of the deadly opioid fentanyl as reasons for the "emergency" measures.
But on Sunday he also expressed general outrage at trade deficits, which he has long viewed as signs of unfair treatment against the United States.
"The USA has major deficits with Canada, Mexico, and China (and almost all countries!), owes 36 Trillion Dollars, and we're not going to be the 'Stupid Country' any longer," he wrote.
The tariffs announcements capped an extraordinary second week of Trump's new term, with the president facing the worst US aviation disaster in years -- even as his administration moved to drastically overhaul the government in actions decried by critics as illegal.
- '51st state' -
In a separate social media post, Trump took particular aim at Canada, repeating his call for America's northern neighbor to become a US state.
Claiming the United States pays "hundreds of billions of dollars to SUBSIDIZE Canada," Trump said that "without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country."
"Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State," he said, reiterating the expansionist threat against one of his country's closest allies.
The US Census Bureau says the 2024 trade deficit in goods with Canada was $55 billion.
Canadian backlash was swift, with video posted to social media showing fans at a Toronto Raptors game Sunday booing during the US national anthem.
Trudeau vowed Saturday to hit back with 25 percent levies on select American goods worth Can$155 billion (US$106.6 billion), with a first round on Tuesday followed by a second one in three weeks.
Leaders of several Canadian provinces have already announced retaliatory actions as well, such as the immediate halt of US liquor purchases.
The White House has not publicly announced what actions could end the tariffs.
"It's hard to know what more we can do, but we're obviously open to any other suggestions that come our way," Canada's ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman told ABC News on Sunday.
- Federal overhaul -
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she, also, was awaiting Trump's response to her proposal for dialogue.
She said she had directed her economy minister to "implement Plan B," which includes unspecified "tariff and non-tariff measures," promising to detail Monday the steps she intends to take.
Trump said Sunday he also planned to hit the European Union with tariffs "pretty soon," to which the EU said earlier it would "respond firmly."
The drastic trade actions follow similarly sharp efforts by Trump's administration to quickly overhaul the federal government in his first two weeks.
Trump's close ally Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest person, and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency were also pursuing efforts that were not fully clear, including reported attempts to probe federal payment and e-mail systems.
The tumult in the federal government coincided with the collision of an army helicopter and an airliner that killed 67 people in the US capital.
Trump, addressing the crash on Thursday as aviation authorities began their formal investigation, baselessly placed the blame on diversity programs.
Trump cuts funding to South Africa
US President Donald Trump on Sunday asserted South Africa was "confiscating" land and "treating certain classes of people very badly" as he announced he was cutting off all future funding to the country pending an investigation.
The land issue in South Africa has long been divisive, with efforts to redress the inequality of white-rule drawing criticism from conservatives including Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest person, who was born in South Africa and is a powerful Trump adviser.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last month signed a bill that stipulates the government may, in certain circumstances, offer "nil compensation" for property it decides to expropriate in the public interest.
"South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
"I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!" Trump wrote.
Pretoria argues the bill does not allow the government to expropriate property arbitrarily and must first seek to reach agreement with the owner.
However, some groups fear a situation similar to the Zimbabwe government's seizure of white-owned commercial farms, often without compensation, after independence in 1980.
Later, in a briefing with journalists, Trump said that South Africa's "leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things" without giving examples.
"So that's under investigation right now. We'll make a determination, and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing -- they're taking away land and confiscating land, and actually they're doing things that are perhaps far worse than that."
- South African billionaires -
Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid.
Since then land courts have adjudicated on a handful of land disputes and, after exhaustive processes, returned land to previously displaced owners.
According to the South African government, the 1913 Natives Land Act saw thousands of Black families forcibly removed from their land by the apartheid regime.
The delicate issue has been a particular rallying point for the right, with various conservative figures including Musk and right-wing journalist Katie Hopkins championing the cause of white land-owners.
Musk was born in Pretoria on June 28, 1971, to an engineer father and a Canadian-born model mother, leaving the country in his late teens. The formal policy of apartheid lasted until 1990, and multi-racial elections were held in 1994.
Trump has surrounded himself with powerful Silicon Valley figures who came of age in apartheid southern Africa, like David Sacks, his newly-appointed artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency czar, who co-founded PayPal along with Musk.
Billionaire Peter Thiel -- another PayPal cofounder, who introduced Trump to his vice president, J.D. Vance -- also lived in southern Africa, including time in Namibia which was then controlled by Pretoria.
He has previously been accused of supporting the apartheid system, that violently subjugated the Black majority of South Africa to uphold white rule and economic control, something a spokesman denied on his behalf.
Trump appears to spare Britain tariffs
US President Donald Trump indicated Sunday that he would not immediately impose tariffs on Britain, as he suggested that the European Union could be line for levies like those imposed on Canada, Mexico and China.
Trump has already launched a full-fledged trade war on the grounds that he wants the countries targeted, Washington's three leading trading partners, to do more to stem the flow of migrants and illicit drugs into the country.
But the Republican president, who only returned to the White House less than a fortnight ago, has indicated he also wants to punish trade partners for running deficits with the United States.
"We're going to see what happens. It might happen (with Britain)... but it will definitely happen with the European Union. I can tell you that, because they've really taken advantage of us -- you know, we have (an) over $300 billion deficit," he said.
"They don't take our cars, they don't take our farm products. They take almost nothing, and we take everything from the millions of cars, tremendous amounts of food and farm products. So the UK is way out of line, and we'll see with the UK, but the European Union is really out of line."
But Trump held out the prospect of a settlement with London, saying that "I think that one can be worked out."
"Prime Minister (Keir) Starmer has been very nice. We've had a couple of meetings, we've had numerous phone calls, we're getting along very well, and we'll see whether or not we can balance out our (trade)," Trump said.