US Hits Canada With 50% Tariffs as Talks Collapse
By @sharedot · · 6 pages
- US News
- Tariffs
- Canada
- Trade War
- Trump
Trump's 50% tariffs on Canadian goods took effect after trade talks collapsed, with Prime Minister Carney vowing to retaliate dollar for dollar.
What Happened: The Tariffs Took Effect
President Trump's 50% tariffs on dozens of Canadian products went into force at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday, after the United States and Canada failed to reach a trade deal.
The list of targeted goods stretches from hockey sticks to wine, dairy products, honey, whey protein, molasses, whiskey and vodka.
According to ABC News, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer blamed Canada for the breakdown, saying Canadian officials made "new demands and walk backs of other commitments" that upended the balance struck earlier in the week.
Why It's a Reversal: A Deal Seemed Imminent
The levies landed days after Trump pushed back a previous deadline and struck an optimistic tone, telling reporters he had a "very good conversation" with Carney and claiming a preliminary deal would eviscerate Canadian tariffs on American farmers down to zero.
That hope collapsed when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended the talks, according to ABC News, calling last-minute U.S. changes "unfair" and "uneconomic" and saying American negotiators "asked too much and offered too little." Both sides blamed the other for the failure.
Canada Fires Back: Matching Levies by Sept. 8
At a Saturday news conference on Parliament Hill, Carney said the 50% U.S. tariff applies to roughly $28 billion of Canadian goods and that Canada would match the tariffs "dollar for dollar," with retaliation set for September 8.
He said Canada's counter-tariffs will target steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.
"We were not prepared to compromise Canada's sovereignty or undermine our key industries," he said, accusing the Trump administration of using economic integration as a weapon.
The Stakes: Escalating Confrontations on Two Fronts
The Canada fight is only one front: weeks earlier, Trump imposed sweeping new tariffs on 60 trade partners including the European Union, rebuilding duties the Supreme Court struck down earlier this year, ABC News reports.
Abigail Watt, an economist at UBS, noted in a memo shared with ABC News that the levies were enacted under section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a provision never before invoked and therefore lacking judicial precedent.
Meanwhile, The National reports Trump and Iran's foreign minister Araghchi traded threats, with Trump vowing to "finish the job," deepening a volatile stretch for U.S. foreign and trade policy.