OTTAWA - Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne on Tuesday confirmed that Canada's new countermeasures announced last week in response to the US tariffs on the Canadian auto industry will come into force at 12:01 am EDT on Wednesday, April 9.

Champagne said Canada would continue to "respond forcefully" to all unwarranted and unreasonable tariffs imposed by the United States on Canadian products.

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"The government is firmly committed to getting these US tariffs removed as soon as possible, and will protect Canada's workers, businesses, economy and industry," Champagne said in a release issued by the Finance Ministry.

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The countermeasures, announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney Prime Minister last week, include 25-percent tariffs on non-Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) compliant fully-assembled vehicles imported into Canada from the United States, and 25-percent tariffs on non-Canadian and non-Mexican content of CUSMA compliant fully-assembled vehicles imported into Canada from the United States.

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A remission framework for auto producers that incentivizes production and investment in Canada, and helps maintain Canadian jobs, will also be implemented, said the release.

On April 3, US tariffs of 25 percent on Canadian automobiles came into effect, targeting the auto industry and the more than 500,000 Canadians this industry supports across the country, said the release, adding that the United States also intends to apply 25-percent tariffs on certain automobile parts on May 3.

Vehicle imports from the United States totaled 35.6 billion Canadian dollars (25 billion) in 2024, said the release.