Many saw this as a deliberate attempt to undermine Trudeau’s position as Canada’s leader.

Trudeau has been vocal about his opposition to the tariffs, previously stating, as reported by AP News: “Today, the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend.

“At the same time, they are talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator. Make that make sense.”

Directly addressing Trump, he continued: “I want to speak directly to one specific American, Donald. It’s not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.”

He added: “There is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today.”

Trudeau then accused Trump of attempting to orchestrate “a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that will make it easier to annex us.”

Meanwhile, China, which has also been hit with 20 percent tariffs on imports, responded with a strong warning.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated: “China opposes this move and will do what is necessary to firmly safeguard its legitimate interests.”

“If the United States … persists in waging a tariff war, a trade war, or any other kind of war, the Chinese side will fight them to the bitter end.”

China’s finance ministry added: “The US’ unilateral tariff increase damages the multilateral trading system, increases the burden on US companies and consumers, and undermines the foundation of economic and trade cooperation between China and the US.”