The United States imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods early Saturday after last-minute trade talks between Washington and Ottawa broke down, deepening a dispute between the two closest trading partners.
The new duties took effect just after midnight, covering products including hockey sticks, building materials, spirits and certain apparel — about 5% of Canada’s total annual exports to the United States. The tariffs had originally been due to start Wednesday, but President Donald Trump granted a three-day extension to allow negotiations to continue.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada backed away from terms both sides had appeared to settle on earlier in the week, telling reporters Ottawa had declined to finalize the agreement. He said Washington had offered Canada more favorable treatment than any other trading partner, including sizable tariff cuts on steel, aluminum, lumber and autos, along with cooperation on aerospace supply chains, critical minerals and forced-labor enforcement, in exchange for Canada lifting some restrictions on U.S. alcohol sales in provincial liquor stores. Greer said there were no new talks currently planned.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offered a different account, saying Washington introduced unfair, last-minute changes to the terms that undermined confidence in any deal it might strike. He called the new U.S. tariffs “a miscalculation” and said Canada would respond with retaliatory duties matching the American measures dollar for dollar, set to take effect Sept. 8. Carney said the countermeasures would target sectors including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.
The breakdown marks a sharp reversal from earlier in the week, when Trump told reporters negotiators had “pretty much” reached an agreement. The U.S. and Canada exchanged roughly $880 billion in goods and services last year, with the U.S. absorbing about 62% of Canada’s total exports, making the two countries each other’s largest or second-largest trading partners.
