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50% Tariffs Signed
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to impose a 50% tariff on most goods imported from Canada, with the measure set to take effect within thirty days and excluding energy, potash, critical minerals, and fish.
“Based on information observed and directly verified by our reporters or by informed sources”
The White House justified the decision as retaliation for what it said were Canada’s trade practices it considers harmful to the United States, including restrictions on access to American dairy products, high tariffs on certain agricultural goods, and taxes on digital services.
In a Truth Social post, Trump threatened Canada last Friday with new tariffs over the smoke from wildfires that affected the northern and eastern United States over the weekend, and he accused Canada of not properly managing its forests.
The new levy also tightens sanctions on the transshipment of goods to evade tariffs by ensuring that goods diverted through third countries to avoid payment of the levy will be subject to an additional 40% tariff.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney responded by accusing the United States on Monday of violating the USMCA and saying his government would intensify talks to resolve the trade dispute.
What’s Covered, What’s Exempt
The tariffs cover a wide range of products, with ABC reporting they would affect imports valued at about 20.000 millones de dólares (17.500 millones de euros), around 5% of all U.S. purchases of Canadian goods during 2025.
ABC said the new gravámenes reach from wine, los lácteos y las bebidas alcohólicas to cement, materials de construcción, ropa, muebles, semillas, piscinas, pelucas, artículos de pesca y equipamiento de hockey sobre hielo.
Al Jazeera said the White House claimed “discriminatory treatment” from Ottawa against US alcohol, automobile and dairy products behind the latest tariffs, and it said the tariffs would apply to nearly $20bn of imports from Canada.
The BBC said several key exports would be spared, including energy, potash, critical minerals and fish, while the White House fact sheet said the new tariffs applied regardless of whether the product was included under the USMCA.
In a statement, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer argued that “Canada has taken US alcohol products off Canadian shelves” and said the tariff announcement aims to “hold Canada accountable for its retaliation and discrimination.”
Carney Vows Talks, Ford Threatens
Carney said the tariffs were “the latest in a series of unilateral US trade actions” in direct violation of the trilateral free trade agreement, and he wrote that Canada was ready to intensify those discussions in the coming weeks.
The BBC reported Carney told reporters he had spoken to Trump and that both leaders agreed to “intensify” trade talks, while warning that “all options” were on the table for how Canada could respond.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on X that if the U.S. goes ahead with its latest threat, “Canada should respond tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar,” as the BBC described a simmering dispute since Trump returned to office in January last year.
The ABC report said Trump firmó tres proclamaciones distintas al amparo de la Sección 338 de la Ley Arancelaria de 1930, and it said the administration holds that the tool authorizes tariffs of up to 50% on countries that discriminate against U.S. products.
The BBC added that the latest move comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that many tariffs imposed globally under emergency powers were illegally enacted, pushing Trump to seek other legal avenues for his trade policy.
