Canada has pointed out the consequences of the imposition of duties by the US

Liam Mooney, founder of a Canadian design firm, told Izvestia on February 1 that Canada's well-being will be threatened with a long-term increase in duties by the US.

"As far as Canada is concerned, the imposition of these tariffs will not benefit Canada. There is no doubt about that. The latest numbers that I've seen say that the contraction in GDP will be about 1.5%. And, you know, if that happens, it's going to be a mild recession at best. You know, we trade with the United States much more than they trade with us. So whatever happens, it's going to affect us more than it affects them. And if we as a nation retaliate, which we should, it will hurt us more than it will hurt them, but we still have to retaliate because we need to provide some form of deterrence," he said.

According to Mooney, the sanctions could last either just a few months or years. In the second option, Canada's long-term economic well-being would be jeopardized, the expert added.

"So either we support the idea of becoming the 51st state, as President Trump wants, or we get into an asymmetrical trade war. There is no compromise at this point," he opined.

Mooney pointed out that Canada currently has "its back against the wall with the most powerful country in the world." At the same time, the government has no plan, which is completely unacceptable, he added.

How high is the threat of a trade war between the US, EU and China. Parsing

Earlier in the day, Trump announced plans to impose 25 percent duties on imports of goods from Canada and Mexico starting Feb. 1, but the tariffs could rise. The decision was later confirmed by White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt.

As the American president pointed out, China, Canada and Mexico will now be unable to do anything to prevent the impending imposition of duties According to him, Canada is responsible for significant amounts of drug smuggling into the United States.

In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the country has an equal, strong and reasonable response to Trump's imposition of duties. He specified that the Canadian side does not want to introduce retaliatory measures against the US, while if the American side "takes this step", Canada will be forced to act.