Without advance notice to Canada, the U.S. president put the auto industry into turmoil with a 25 percent tariff.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s election campaign had brought him to the bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, over which $300 million worth of auto parts cross daily.
He unveiled a series of promises of programs for workers and auto-related industries that would be rolled out if President Trump imposed tariffs on products from the Canadian auto industry. Among them was a proposed fund of 2 billion Canadian dollars to reshape the industry for a future without the U.S. market.
The stakes are high. Cars and auto parts are the country’s second-biggest export by value and an employer, directly and indirectly, of about 500,000 people, accounting for 10 percent of manufacturing gross domestic product.
But what Mr. Carney, nor anyone else in the Canadian government, knew at that time was that a few hours later the program would no longer be something for an emergency situation.
Mr. Trump, without first informing Canada, announced that he was imposing 25 percent tariffs effective April 2 on all imports of cars and auto parts, with no exemption for Canada.