Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his country will file a claim with the World Trade Organization protesting the US tariffs, in addition to imposing a retaliatory levy on American goods.



His remarks come after the administration of US President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada.



In a news conference on Tuesday, Trudeau said, "Today, the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend."



He said Canada will implement a retaliatory tariff of 25 percent on products imported from the US. The levies will be phased in over three weeks, and eventually cover imports worth a total of 155 billion Canadian dollars, or about 107 billion US dollars.



The prime minister said Ottawa will challenge the US tariffs by filing dispute resolution claims at the WTO and also under the rules of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.



Trudeau said the imposition of tariffs cannot be justified, given that Canada has been working with the US on anti-drug measures. He added that what Trump wants to see is "a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that will make it easier to annex us."



Canada intends to keep retaliatory tariffs in place unless the US tariffs are withdrawn.



Meanwhile, Trump said in a social media post that, if Trudeau puts "a Retaliatory Tariff on the US, our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!"