Canada's metal industry warns that the new tariffs imposed by the United States will lead to layoffs and loss of sales.

A Canadian company and a major union said on Wednesday that the increase in U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum could lead to more unemployment and sales losses, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also said Canada is preparing retaliatory action. The U.S. is raising tariffs on the two metals from 25% in March to 50%, effective at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday Beijing time. Canada is the largest sales country for these two metals in the U.S., exporting twice as much aluminum to its southern neighbor as the combination of the other top ten exporting countries. Lana Payne, president of the private sector union Unifor in Canada, said, "So I can say this will have a very swift impact on the steel industry. The Canadian Aluminum Association said that the 50% tariff could cause its members to turn to the European market. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday that if negotiations with Washington to lift the tariffs fail, Canada is prepared to retaliate." He told the House of Commons, "We are in intense negotiations with the Americans, and also prepared to take retaliatory action if negotiations fail."