VANCOUVER, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke against the United States over its tariffs on steel and aluminum on Friday during the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Charlevoix, Quebec.

"Canada will not change its mind when it comes to the illegal and absolutely unjustified application of tariffs on steel and aluminum, not only coming from Canada, but on the steel and aluminum sold by all the G7 allies who are assembled here, to the United States," Freeland said in a news conference at the summit.

Noting the U.S. imposition of tariffs was officially stated as a national security consideration, Freeland said: "We are very clear that Canada does not pose a national security threat to the United States. On the contrary, as part of the U.S. law, we are part of the national defense base of the United States."

"Canada has already raised cases at the WTO and at NAFTA, and we will retaliate," she said. "But we say that with great sadness."

Last week, Canada hit back at the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump by announcing retaliatory tariffs on up to 16.6 billion Canadian dollars (12.8 billion U.S. dollars) worth of U.S. steel and aluminum as well as a diverse list of other products. Those countermeasures are set to take effect on July 1.

James Brander, an international trade expert at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, said Freeland's comments were meaningful.

"I think she is outlining Canada's actual position and is outlining actual steps that have been taken and are being taken," he told Xinhua in an interview.

Canada set out a G7 summit agenda focusing on future jobs, gender equality and women's advancement, climate change, clean oceans and peace-building, among others.

However, Brander said, with the tariff issue being brought to the forefront on Friday, Trump effectively knocked the summit off its planned agenda on day one.

G7 includes the seven leading industrialized countries of Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada.