The Canadian government is ready to retaliate against U.S. tariffs, the nation's trade minister told Australian media on Monday.

Mary Ng, Canada's minister of export promotion, international trade and economic development, said during an official visit to Australia that the U.S. government's promised tariffs will "simply create costs for Americans."

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier in February agreed to pause a 25 percent tariff on all goods imported to the United States from Canada and Mexico except for energy products, which will face 10 percent tariffs, for 30 days.

Ng told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television on Monday night that Canada is ready to retaliate if the tariffs are implemented.

"Should Canada get tariffs that are punishing, tariffs that will hurt our economy, everything will be on the table," she said. "We will respond, and we will respond with impact."

The Australian government has said it is working on an exemption from U.S. 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.

Ng, who is in Australia leading a delegation of 140 Canadian companies aiming to boost the trade relationship between the countries, told the ABC that the two countries have not yet discussed a joint response to U.S. tariffs.

In a separate interview with Nine Entertainment newspapers, she said that Australia and Canada should continue to promote open and free trade under a system "that is underpinned by a rules-based order."

Ng met with Don Farrell, Australia's minister for trade and tourism, over the weekend.

Farrell on Thursday rejected a claim from Peter Navarro, Trump's senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, that aluminum imported from Australia is "killing" the U.S. market. 

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