Canada unveils limited counter measures against US, calls Trump move a tragedy

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a limited set of counter measures against U.S. tariffs on Thursday while calling President Donald Trump's protectionist moves a tragedy for global trade.

Carney said the Canadian government will copy the U.S. approach by imposing a 25% tariff on all vehicles imported from the United States that are not compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal.

The new measure will apply to C$35.6 billion ($25.3 billion) worth of imports, a government spokesperson said.

Carney also told a press conference that the new tariffs would not apply to auto parts and would not affect vehicle content from Mexico.

"Given the prospective damage to their own people, the American administration should eventually change course. But I don't want to give false hope," Carney said, adding that it could take a long time for the United States to shift approach.

Carney said Canada's previously announced tariffs would stay in place.

Trump's new tariffs sent shockwaves through markets on Thursday. His 10% baseline levy on all U.S. imports, with much higher duties on some countries, encouraged investors to flee risky assets as they worried Trump was upending global trade.

"The 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global economic leadership, when it forged alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect and championed the free and open exchange of goods and services, is over. This is a tragedy," Carney said.

The new countermeasures are in addition to two rounds of tariffs Canada has already imposed on a total of C$59.8 billion worth of U.S. imports.

($1 = 1.4084 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by David Ljunggren and Caroline Stauffer;Editing by Will Dunham)