TORONTO (AP) — New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Conservative opponent said U.S. President Donald Trump must respect Canada’s sovereignty as they kicked off their election campaigns Sunday against the backdrop of a trade war and Trump’s annexation threats.

Carney announced a five-week election campaign before the vote on April 28.

“We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetimes because of President Trump’s unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty,” Carney said.

“President Trump claims that Canada isn’t a real country. He wants to break us so America can own us. We will not let that happen,” he added.

The governing Liberals appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared a trade war. He has repeatedly said Canada should become the 51st U.S. state and has acknowledged he’s upended Canadian politics.

Trump’s almost daily attacks on Canada’s sovereignty have infuriated Canadians and led to a surge in Canadian nationalism that has bolstered Liberal poll numbers.

“They want our resources. They want our water. They want our land. They want our country. Never,” Carney said at a rally in Newfoundland.

The election campaign for 343 seats or districts in the House of Commons will last 37 days. Although other parties are running, the Liberals and the Conservatives are the only two that have a chance to form a government. The party that commands a majority in Parliament, either alone or with the support of another party, will form the next government and its leader will be prime minister.

Carney replaced Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January but remained in power until the Liberal Party elected a new leader following a leadership race.

The opposition Conservatives hoped to make the election about Trudeau, whose popularity declined as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged. But after decades of bilateral stability, the vote is now expected to focus on who is best equipped to deal with Trump.

Carney said the choice for Canadians is a “Canadian Trump or a government that unites.”

“Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves,” Carney said in a hockey reference. “In this trade war, just like in hockey, we will win.”

Trump put 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products — as well as all of America’s trading partners — on April 2.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is Carney’s main challenger. The party and Poilievre were heading for a huge victory in Canada’s election until Trump’s near-daily trade and annexation threats derailed them.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, a conservative ally, said Poilievre would be “very much in sync” with the “new direction in America.”

“The content of this interview is very bad news for the Conservatives because it reinforces the Liberals’ narrative about Pierre Poilievre and his perceived ideological proximity with Donald Trump,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.

Poilievre said he will stand up to Trump.

“I will insist the president recognizes the independence and sovereignty of Canada. I will insist he stops tariffing our nation,” he said as he launched his campaign.

“I know a lot of people are worried, angry and anxious. And with good reason as a result of the president’s unacceptable threats against our country,” Poilievre said.

Carney still hasn’t had a phone call with Trump and that might not happen now until after the election. Trump mocked Trudeau by calling him governor, but he has not yet mentioned Carney’s name.

“Trump must recognize that Canada is a sovereign country,” Carney said. “He has to say that, he has to accept that, before we can have a discussion about a trade agreement. … Let’s just say there is no meeting that has been planned.”

Carney, 60, was the head of the Bank of Canada during the 2008 financial crisis. In 2013, he became the first noncitizen of the United Kingdom to run the Bank of England, helping to manage the impact of Brexit.

Carney, a political novice, said Canadians want change and he’s moved the Liberal Party to the right, announcing a middle-class tax cut Sunday and scrapping Trudeau’s signature carbon tax and reversing a capital gains tax increase.

Poilievre, 45, for years the party’s go-to attack dog, is a career politician and firebrand populist who says he will put “Canada first.” Elon Musk, who is playing an integral role in the Trump administration, has endorsed and praised him.

PARIS (AP) — New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday during his first official overseas trip, seeking support from one of Ottawa’s oldest allies as U.S. President Donald Trump attacks Canada’s sovereignty and economy.

Macron and Carney did not take journalists’ questions ahead of the talks, a sign the French president might not want to upset Trump.

Macron did not address Trump’s attacks on Canada but noted that tariffs only bring inflation.

“In the current international context, we want to be able to develop our most strategic projects with our closest, more loyal partners,” Macron said, adding that “we are stronger together, better able to ensure the respect of our interests, the full exercise of our sovereignty.”

Carney was sworn in on Friday. He will next visit Britain, where he will meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and King Charles III, the head of state in Canada. Starmer is also not expected to hold a joint news conference.

Carney will also travel to the edge of Canada’s Arctic to reaffirm the country’s security and sovereignty.

Carney has chosen the two European capital cities that shaped Canada’s early existence. During his swearing-in, he noted the country was built on the bedrock of three peoples, French, English and Indigenous. He said Canada is fundamentally different from America and will “never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United States.”

“I want to ensure that France, and the whole of Europe, works enthusiastically with Canada, the most European of non-European countries, and at the same time resolutely North American, determined, like you, to maintain the most positive relations possible with the United States,” Carney said Monday.

Since Trump came to office, he has imposed whopping tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum and repeatedly commented on turning Canada into the 51st state, infuriating Canadians and sparking a call to boycott U.S. products across the country.

Trump also threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on all of America’s trading partners on April 2.

Macron said fair trade “is certainly more effective than tariffs, which create inflation and damage supply chains and our economic integration.”

Carney’s choice of itinerary emphasizes Canada’s strong connection with the two former colonial powers, said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.

“The fact that Canada never broke away from the U.K. in a violent fashion is a key historical and institutional difference between the United States and Canada, a constitutional monarchy rather than a republic that has adopted and retained a U.K.-style parliamentary system,” Béland said.

The trip to London will be a kind of homecoming. Carney became the first non-British governor in the Bank of England’s 319-year history when he took the job on July 1, 2013. He served until March 15, 2020.

Carney, who turned 60 on Sunday, has said he’s ready to meet with Trump if he shows respect for Canadian sovereignty. He said he doesn’t plan to visit Washington at the moment but hopes to have a phone call with the president soon. His government is also reviewing the purchase of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets in light of Trump’s trade war.

Meanwhile, Macron has been increasing efforts to persuade France’s allies to move away from purchases of American military hardware, which also coincides with mounting concerns in Europe that European defenses are overly dependent on U.S. weaponry, technical support and goodwill.

Macron touched on the French-British plan for securing any ceasefire in Ukraine.

“This common commitment at the side of the Ukrainians has always aimed for a peace that is solid and lasting,” Macron said. “Canada and France are powers of peace, reliable allies, which will take part together in this effort.” He did not give details.

Carney spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone late Sunday and invited him to the G7 summit this summer that Canada is hosting.

Trump said he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as he pushes to end the war in Ukraine.

Carney is expected to call a parliamentary election by the end of the week, to take place in late April or early May. Canada’s governing Liberal Party had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared economic war. Now, the party and its new leader could come out on top.

Associated Press writers John Leicester in Paris and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.

Mark Carney will soon replace Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister following his landslide victory in the governing Liberal Party’s election.

Carney, a former governor of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada with no political experience — and no seat in the House of Commons — will take over the leadership of both his party and his country at a time of profound uncertainty prompted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s adversarial stance toward his neighbor as a general election looms.

Carney is expected to call snap elections shortly after being sworn into office, and voter surveys show his party within fighting distance of his main opposition: the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre.

The Conservatives had long been considered the favorites to win the next election, which needs to be held by October. Trump’s talk of annexing Canada and his tariffs against the country have reshaped the race, overshadowing issues such as inflation and immigration that appeared to originally dominate voters’ minds.

“Trump has said he’s the most important person in Canadian politics right now,” said Nick Taylor-Vaisey, Politico Ottawa bureau chief. “I think everybody in Canada would acknowledge that.”

The latest polling average, updated by The Economist on Saturday, shows the Liberals trailing the Conservatives by 7 percentage points — a far slimmer margin compared to the 25-point difference between the two parties in late December, prior to Trudeau’s resignation announcement. Voters also appear to favor Carney over Poilievre, a recent poll found.

“Momentum is with [Carney] and his party,” The Economist said in a column Monday. “Whether that will be enough to deliver victory — and to keep Mr. Trump at bay— is yet to be seen.”

Carney, a former Goldman Sachs executive, sought to highlight his determination to protect his country from Trump in his first speech, pledging to maintain Canada’s tariffs on the U.S. “until the Americans show us respect and and until they can join us in making credible and reliable commitments to free and fair trade.”

Last week, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on many Canadian goods before reversing course and postponing some of them while also threatening new tariffs on dairy and lumber.

“The Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country,” Carney said. “Think about it: If they succeeded, they would destroy our way of life. In America, health care is a big business. In Canada, it is a right.”

“America is not Canada, and Canada never, ever will be part of America in any way, shape or form,” he continued.

Meanwhile, some voters appear to worry that Poilievre’s style is too similar to Trump’s — a perception that’s been amplified by ads run by the Liberals that show the Conservative Party leader echoing Trump’s rhetoric, including on “fake news.”

“At a time when Trump is toxic in Canada, that image is not helping Poilievre,” David McLaughlin, a former senior official in previous Conservative governments in Canada, told The Wall Street Journal.

Poilievre has recognized those concerns, speaking out forcefully against Trump, adjusting his party’s messaging and seeking to tie Carney to Trudeau, who has been widely unpopular despite the slight rebound in his approval rating in recent weeks.

Andrew Enns, the executive vice president of the Central Canada operations of Leger, a market research company, told Bloomberg that while the shift of the election’s focus on Trump poses a big challenge for Poilievre, Carney is still an unknown figure to most Canadians, meaning their perception of him could change as he assumes the top job.

“Carney’s had an impact, I’m not going to take that away from him, but the bigger change has been this whole Trump environment,” Enns said. “Tariffs have repositioned how Canadians are viewing the Canadian government now.”

TORONTO (AP) — Former central banker Mark Carney will become Canada’s next prime minister after the governing Liberal Party elected him its leader Sunday as the country deals with U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation threat, and a federal election looms.

Carney, 59, replaces Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January but remains prime minister until his successor is sworn in in the coming days.

Carney navigated crises when he was the head of the Bank of Canada and when in 2013 he became the first noncitizen to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694. His appointment won bipartisan praise in the U.K. after Canada recovered from the 2008 financial crisis faster than many other countries.

The opposition Conservatives hoped to make the election about Trudeau, whose popularity declined as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged.

Trump’s trade war and his talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state have infuriated Canadians, who are booing the American anthem at NHL and NBA games. Some are canceling trips south of the border, and many are avoiding buying American goods when they can.

The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered the Liberal Party’s chances in a parliamentary election expected within days or weeks.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s governing Liberals will announce a replacement for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday as the country deals with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and as a federal election looms.

Liberal Party members look set to pick former central bank governor Mark Carney as the new party leader and Canada’s next prime minister in a vote to be announced on Sunday evening.

Carney, 59, navigated crises when he was the head of the Bank of Canada and when in 2013 he became the first noncitizen to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694. His appointment won bipartisan praise in the U.K. after Canada recovered from the 2008 financial crisis faster than many other countries.

The opposition Conservatives hoped to make the election about Trudeau, whose popularity declined as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged. Trudeau announced his resignation in January, but remains prime minister until a successor is chosen and sworn in. Election laws mandate a general election before the fall, but one is expected this spring.

Trump’s trade war and his talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state have infuriated Canadians, who are booing the American anthem at NHL and NBA games. Some are canceling trips south of the border, and many are avoiding buying American goods when they can.

The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered the Liberal Party’s chances in a parliamentary election expected within days or weeks, and Liberal showings have been improving steadily in opinion polls.

“We have made this the greatest country in the world and now our neighbors want to take us. No way,” Carney said.

After decades of bilateral stability, the vote on Canada’s next leader now is expected to focus on who is best equipped to deal with the United States.

Carney has picked up one endorsement after another from Cabinet ministers and members of Parliament since declaring his candidacy in January. He is a highly educated economist with Wall Street experience who has long been interested in entering politics and becoming prime minister, but he lacks political experience.

The other top Liberal leadership candidate is former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. Trudeau told Freeland in December that he no longer wanted her as finance minister, but that she could remain deputy prime minister and the point person for U.S.-Canada relations. Freeland resigned shortly after, releasing a scathing letter about the government that proved to be the last straw for Trudeau.

The party is also expected to pay tribute to Trudeau on Sunday evening. More than 151,000 Liberal members voted.

“There is a remarkable wave of patriotism across our country,” Freeland said. “All of us have one message for Donald Trump tonight. Canada will never be the 51st state.”

The new leader is expected to trigger an election shortly afterward. Either the new Liberal party leader will call one, or the opposition parties in Parliament could force one with a no-confidence vote later this month.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday, in addition to doubling the 10% universal tariff charged on imports from China.

In a Truth Social post Thursday, Trump said illicit drugs such as fentanyl are being smuggled into the United States at “unacceptable levels” and that import taxes would force other countries to crack down on the trafficking.

“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” the Republican president wrote. “China will likewise be charged an additional 10% Tariff on that date.”

The prospect of escalating tariffs has already thrown the global economy into turmoil, with consumers expressing fears about inflation worsening and the auto sector and other domestic manufacturers suffering if Trump raises import taxes. But Trump has also at times engaged in aggressive posturing only to give last-minute reprieves, previously agreeing to a 30-day suspension of the Canada and Mexico tariffs that were initially supposed to start in February.

The threat of tariffs frightened the stock market with the S&P 500 index falling 1.6% on Thursday. The S&P 500 is now just 1.4% higher than it was after Trump won the election in November, giving up almost all of the gains that the president once cited as evidence of an economic revival.

Asked Thursday about the fact that tariffs are largely paid for consumers and importing companies, Trump dismissed any concerns by saying: “It’s a myth.” It’s possible for a stronger U.S. dollar to offset some of the costs of tariffs, but Trump’s statement goes against most economic modeling given the breadth of his planned taxes.

Trump intends to put 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10% tax on Canadian energy products such as oil and electricity. The move, ostensibly about drug trafficking and immigration, led Mexico and Canada to respond by emphasizing their existing efforts to address these issues. Canada created a fentanyl czar, and Mexico sent 10,000 members of its National Guard to its border with the United States.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that she hoped to speak with Trump after the Cabinet-level meetings occurring in Washington this week. Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente was scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday afternoon.

Trump, “as you know, has his way of communicating,” Sheinbaum said. But she said that her government would stay “cool-headed” and optimistic about an agreement coming together to avoid the tariffs.

“I hope we are able to reach an agreement and on March 4 we can announce something else,” she said.

She said Mexico’s security chiefs were discussing intelligence sharing with their American counterparts that would allow for important arrests in the U.S. On the economic front, she said Mexico’s goal is to protect the free trade pact that was negotiated during the first Trump administration between Mexico and the United States. That 2020 deal, which included Canada, was an update of the North American Free Trade Agreement from 1994.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country has invested more than 1 billion Canadian dollars to improve border security, adding that his government’s ministers and officials are also in Washington this week.

“There is no emergency for the United States at the border with Canada when it comes to fentanyl, and that is exactly what we are demonstrating at this time,” Trudeau said in Montreal. “If the United States goes ahead and imposes tariffs, we already shared the details of our plan. We have $30 billion worth of U.S. products that will be subject to tariffs. And $125 billion of tariffs that will be applied three weeks later. But we don’t want to be in that position.”

Trump did impose a 10% tariff on China for its role in the manufacturing of chemicals used to make fentanyl, and that tax would now be doubled, according to his social media post.

On Thursday, China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao wrote to Jamieson Greer, the newly confirmed U.S. trade representative, that differences on trade should be resolved through dialogues and negotiations.

The 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada would amount to a total tax increase on the U.S. public of somewhere between $120 billion to $225 billion annually, according to Jacob Jensen, a trade policy analyst at the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank. The additional China tariffs could cost consumers up to $25 billion.

The potential for higher prices and slower growth could create political blowback for Trump, who promised voters in last year’s presidential election that he could quickly lower the inflation rate, which jumped during Democratic President Joe Biden’s term. But Trump also campaigned on imposing broad tariffs, which he plans to launch on April 2 by resetting them to match the taxes that he determines are charged by other countries on American goods.

“The April Second Reciprocal Tariff date will remain in full force and effect,” Trump said as part of his new social media post.

In an interview with News Nation, Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said progress by Mexico and Canada on fentanyl “was not as impressive as the president had hoped.” There are significant differences between Canada and Mexico on the scale of drug smuggling. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds (19.5 kilograms) of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last budget year, compared with 21,100 pounds (9,570 kilograms) at the Mexican border.

Hassett stressed that the reciprocal tariffs would be in addition to the ones being placed on Canada and Mexico.

Trump indicated Wednesday that European countries would also face a 25% tariff as part of his reciprocal tariffs. He also wants separate tariffs on autos, computer chips and pharmaceutical drugs that would be levied in addition to the reciprocal tariffs.

The president already announced that he’s removing the exemptions on his 2018 steel and aluminum tariffs, in addition to planning taxes on copper imports.

The prospect of a broader trade conflict should other nations follow through with their own retaliatory tariffs is already spooking U.S. consumers, potentially undermining Trump’s promise to unleash stronger economic growth.

The Conference Board reported on Tuesday that its consumer confidence index had dropped 7 points to a reading of 98.3. It was the largest monthly decline since August 2021, when inflationary pressures began to reverberate across the United States as the economy recovered from the coronavirus pandemic. Average 12-month inflation expectations jumped from 5.2% to 6% in February, the Conference Board noted.

“There was a sharp increase in the mentions of trade and tariffs, back to a level unseen since 2019,” said Stephanie Guichard, a senior economist at the Conference Board. “Most notably, comments on the current administration and its policies dominated the responses.”

Associated Press writers Didi Tang and Rob Gillies contributed to this report. Sanchez reported from Mexico City.

The anthem singer who performed the Canadian anthem prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game Thursday night changed a lyric in “O Canada” as a response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated remarks about making the country the 51st state.

Publicist Adam Gonshor in an email to The Associated Press confirmed Chantal Kreviazuk changed the lyric from “in all of us command” to “that only us command” and confirmed Trump’s 51st state comments were the reason why. During Canada’s 3-2 overtime victory, Kreviazuk told the AP she did it “because I believe in democracy, and a sovereign nation should not have to be defending itself against tyranny and fascism.”

“I’m somebody who grew up on music that spoke to the heart and the moment, and it shaped me as a songwriter and really as a human being,” she added. “I don’t think it would be authentic to me to be given a world stage and not express myself and be true to myself.”

Kreviazuk, who is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, also wrote the phrase “that only us command” with mascara on her left hand. She posted a picture of that on her Instagram with emojis of a Canadian flag and a flexed muscle.

“I just put it on there so if I ever had a moment and I kind of froze, I would be able to look at my hand and see it,” Kreviazuk said. “I’d love to see people sort of get inspired and catch the fire and say their heart more in their art. … Sometimes you just got to speak the truth in your art and it’s awesome. That’s what it should be about.”

The NHL declined comment on the situation.

Fans in Boston lightly booed the song, though it was soon drowned out by Kreviazuk’s singing. The crowd in Montreal booed “The Star-Spangled Banner” prior to U.S. tournament games at Bell Centre last week, more vociferously before the team faced Canada.

Tensions have risen between the neighbors and longtime allies over the past several weeks as Trump since being inaugurated has suggested multiple times that Canada become the 51st U.S. state, in relation to a trade dispute, and threatened a series of tariffs. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that will never happen.

The subject of Canada becoming the 51st state was brought up Thursday during a news conference with David McGuinty, Canada’s Public Safety Minister.

“Sounds like President Trump is worried about the outcome of the hockey game,” McGuinty said. “Canada is a sovereign and independent country. It has been for over 150 years and will remain so. This discussion of 51st state is a non-starter.”

Trump called the U.S. team prior to their morning skate Thursday to wish players luck in the game. Players told reporters in Boston it was an honor to hear from him, with defenseman Noah Hanifin saying, “Hopefully we can get the win tonight for our country and for Trump.”

Whyno reported from Washington. Freelancer Jim Morris contributed.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

President Donald Trump said this week that tariffs on U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico will arrive Saturday. The two nations are not only close geographically, but economically as well.

The business between the North American nations now exceeds China, totaling $1.8 trillion in 2023. That is far greater than the $643 billion in commerce that the U.S. did with China in that same year.

Following are just a few imported goods that could be hit first.

For decades, auto companies have built supply chains that cross the borders of the United States, Mexico and Canada. More than one in five of the cars and light trucks sold in the United States were built in Canada or Mexico, according to S&P Global Mobility. In 2023, the United States imported $69 billion worth of cars and light trucks from Mexico – more than any other country ― and $37 billion from Canada. Another $78 billion in auto parts came from Mexico and $20 billion from Canada. The engines in Ford F-series pickups and the iconic Mustang sports coupe, for instance, come from Canada.

“You have engines and car seats and other things that cross the border multiple times before going into a finished vehicle,’’ said Cato’s Lincicome. “You have American parts going to Mexico to be put into vehicles that are then shipped back to the United States.

“You throw 25% tariffs into all that, and it’s just a grenade.’’

In a report Tuesday, S&P Global Mobility reckoned that “importers are likely to pass most, if not all, of this (cost) increase to consumers.’’ TD Economics notes that average U.S. car prices could rise by around $3,000 – this at a time when the average new car already goes for $50,000 and the average used car for $26,000, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Canada is by far America’s biggest foreign supplier of crude oil. From January through November last year, Canada shipped the U.S. $90 billion worth of crude, well ahead of No. 2 Mexico at $11 billion.

For many U.S. refineries, there’s not much choice. Canada produces the “type of crude oil that American refineries are geared to process,’’ Lincicome said. “It’s a heavier crude. All the fracking and all the oil and gas we make here in the United States – or most of it – is a lighter crude that a lot of American refineries don’t process, particularly in the Midwest.’’

Trump said Thursday that he hasn’t yet decided whether to include Canadian and Mexico oil in the tariffs he still plans impose Saturday.

If he did tax Canadian oil imports, Lincicome said, “how the heck does that shake out? My guess is that it shakes out just through higher gas prices, particularly in the Midwest.’’ TD Economics figures that Trump’s tariffs could push up U.S. gasoline prices by 30 cents to 70 cents a gallon.

Tariffs would raise the price for those raising a glass of tequila or Canadian whisky.

In 2023, the U.S. imported $4.6 billion worth of tequila and $108 million worth of mezcal from Mexico, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a trade group. The U.S. imported $537 million worth of Canadian spirits, including $202.5 million worth of whisky.

Canada and Mexico were also the second- and third-largest importers of U.S. spirits in 2023, behind the European Union, the council said.

The council said the U.S. is already facing a potentially devastating 50% tariff on American whiskey by the European Union, which is set to begin in March. Imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada could pile even more retaliatory action on the industry.

Chris Swonger, the council’s president and CEO, said he appreciates the goal of protecting U.S. jobs. But tequila and Canadian whisky – like Kentucky bourbon ― are designated as distinctive products that can only be made in their country of origin.

“At the end of the day, tariffs on spirits products from our neighbors to the north and south are going to hurt U.S. consumers and lead to job losses across the U.S. hospitality industry, just as these businesses continue their long recovery from the pandemic,” Swonger said.

For American consumers still exasperated by high grocery prices, a trade war with Canada and Mexico could be painful. In 2023, the U.S. bought more than $45 billion in agricultural products from Mexico –including 63% of imported vegetables and 47% of fruits and nuts. Farm imports from Canada came to $40 billion. A 25% tariff could push prices up.

“Grocery stores operate on really tiny margins,’’ Lincicome said. “They can’t eat the tariffs … especially when you talk about things like avocados that basically all of them – 90% ― come from Mexico. You’re talking about guacamole tariffs right before the Super Bowl.’’

U.S. farmers are nervous, too, that Canada and Mexico will retaliate by slapping tariffs on American products such as soybeans and corn. That’s what happened in the first Trump administration. China and other targets of Trump tariffs hit back by targeting the president’s supporters in rural America. Exports of soybeans and other farm products dropped, so Trump spent billions of U.S. taxpayer money to reimburse farmers for lost sales.

“President Trump was as good as his word,’’ said Mark McHargue, a Central City, Nebraska, farmer who grows corn, soybeans, popcorn and raises hogs. “It did take the sting out of it. That’s for sure.’’ But he would prefer to see the government push to open foreign markets to American farm exports. “We would rather get our money from the market,’’ said McHargue, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau. “It doesn’t feel great to get a government check.’’

Associated Press Writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed this story.