Trudeau: Canadians shocked by U.S. decision to target them

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Feb. 2 that Canadians are stunned by U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to target Ottawa.

"Canadians are stunned why our closest friends and neighbors are targeting us," he said at a news conference broadcast on YouTube by CNBC.

Trudeau said the United States and Canada should act cooperatively and tackle common challenges "in other parts of the world" together.

White House: what executive orders Trump approved on day one

The number of laws passed in the U.S. in a single day made history

The day before, Trump signed an executive order imposing trade tariffs on goods from Canada, China and Mexico. According to Trump, Canada is responsible for significant amounts of drug smuggling into the United States. In response, Trudeau said 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 impose retaliatory measures against the United States, while if the American side "takes that step", Canada will be forced to act.

On the same day, Trudeau announced the introduction by Canada of retaliatory duties of 25% on goods from the United States totaling $155 billion. The Prime Minister of the country emphasized that the decision of the American leader to impose duties will have real consequences for the Americans themselves.