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Tariffs hit Canada
The United States imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products early Saturday, after U.S. and Canadian negotiators failed to finalise a trade deal before a deadline set by President Donald Trump.
“went into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would retaliate “dollar for dollar” starting September 8, after Carney announced the negotiations were suspended over “last-minute changes” to U.S. proposed terms he described as “unfair” and “uneconomic.”
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. offer to Canada to receive “the best treatment of any major exporter to our market” was overturned by “new demands and walk-backs of other commitments by Canada.”
The tariffs were described as applying to about 5% of Canada’s exports to the United States, with affected products including hockey sticks, wine, and cement, and the U.S. move was said to take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Blame and countermeasures
Greer framed the breakdown as a missed opportunity, saying “Tonight, Canada declined to finalise the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week,” while also citing “new demands and walk-backs of other commitments by Canada.”
Carney responded that “Last-minute changes to the U.S. proposals were unfair, anti-economic, and called into question the reliability of any deal,” and he said Canada would match the U.S. “dollar for dollar.”
Al Jazeera reported that Carney said the United States proposed new terms that were “uneconomic, unfair and undermined the net benefits for Canada,” and that Canada would not accept what Washington offered.
The same Al Jazeera report said Canada’s retaliatory tariffs would target U.S. steel, dairy and electronics among other sectors, and take effect on September 8, as Trump’s new tariffs were described as hitting sectors including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment.
What’s at stake next
The dispute was described as calling into question the future of a North American trade agreement covering the United States, Canada and Mexico, with the breakdown of talks casting doubt on whether negotiations on the North American trade pact could continue.
“Tariffs of 50 percent would effectively price hundreds of Canadian goods out of the US market”
Canada’s retaliation was also presented as part of a broader political and economic risk, with the U.S. and Canada said to have traded $880 billion worth of goods and services last year and with nearly 72% of Canada’s goods exports going to the United States.
Al Jazeera quoted a McGill University trade expert, Julian Karaguesian, saying “Tariffs of 50 percent would effectively price hundreds of Canadian goods out of the US market,” as the report warned the tariffs could hurt many Canadian businesses exporting affected goods.
In parallel, 20 Minutes said the new surtaxes in the U.S.-Canada dispute apply to a total of 20 milliards de dollars d’importations canadiennes and that this represents about 5,5 % des exportations canadiennes aux Etats-Unis, while Carney said Canada would apply equivalent duties “au dollar près” to protect workers and businesses.