Canada to Impose Tariffs on U.S. Imports After Trade Talks Collapse

Canada is set to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, dollar for dollar, in response to new duties imposed by the United States. Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that the measures are necessary to protect Canadian workers and businesses.

“

Canada will impose equivalent tariffs, dollar for dollar, to protect our workers and our businesses.

The U.S. introduced 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian products, including cement and hockey sticks, amounting to $20 billion in imports. This action followed the failure of last-minute negotiations between the two neighboring countries, whose relations have significantly deteriorated during Donald Trump's second term.

Canadian Minister of Commerce Dominic LeBlanc spent the week in Washington attempting to resolve the trade dispute. However, negotiators departed Friday evening without an agreement, triggering the punitive surtaxes at 00:01 GMT. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer expressed regret, stating that Canada's last-minute demands and backtracking on commitments disrupted a fragile balance.

“

Despite an American offer to Canada to receive better treatment than any exporter to our market, new demands and backtracking on other commitments by Canada have disrupted the fragile balance achieved in recent days.

According to Greer, the U.S. had offered to lower sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminum, automobiles, and lumber in exchange for concessions from Canada, which were not detailed. Prime Minister Carney explained that Canada refused to sign the deal due to last-minute modifications by the U.S. that were deemed unfair, uneconomical, and undermined the reliability of any agreement. The U.S. tariffs, initially announced in July, were postponed three days to allow for continued discussions.

“

The last-minute modifications made by the United States to the proposed terms were unfair, uneconomical, and called into question the reliability of any agreement.