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WASHINGTON, D.C. — They tried to be polite, to stress the long history of amity between the two countries.

But Canadian officials seemed almost astonished Thursday as they made a case for what seemed obvious to them: Canada is not a national security threat to the U.S., and shouldn’t be slapped with devastating tariffs on auto imports.

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Kirsten Hillman, Ottawa’s deputy ambassador to the States, and Ontario cabinet minister Jim Wilson added to a near-unanimous chorus of opposition to President Donald Trump’s suggested defence-related tariffs on imported vehicles during a packed day of hearings.

If Canada is not, in fact, spared the trade penalty, it will respond with “proportionate” tariffs of its own, Hillman warned.

They were joined by American auto makers, business groups and think tanks that predicted such tariffs would kill thousands of jobs south of the border, make cars pricier — and even trigger a spike in auto thefts and crashes.