Coils of steel sit in storage in a port authority facility in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, March 9, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Power
(Reuters) -Canada will announce C$29.8 bln in retaliatory tariffs on the United States on Wednesday in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, a Canadian official said.
The official declined to be named.
Trump's increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday as prior exemptions, duty free quotas and product exclusions expired, and as his campaign to reorder global trade norms in favor of the U.S. gains momentum.
Canada is the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States.
The escalation of the U.S.-Canada trade war occurred as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepared to hand over power this week to his successor Mark Carney, who won the leadership race of the ruling Liberals on Sunday.
On Monday, Carney said he could not speak with Trump until he was sworn in as prime minister. Trump again on social media said he wanted Canada "to become our cherished Fifty First State."
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Caroline Stauffer, Louise Heavens and Tomasz Janowski)
