Canada vows dollar-for-dollar retaliation as 50-per-cent U.S. tariffs take effect

Canada suspended trade negotiations with the United States and pledged dollar-for-dollar retaliation as additional 50-per-cent U.S. tariffs took effect early Saturday on about $28 billion in Canadian goods. Prime Minister Mark Carney said he directed Canadian negotiators to return to Ottawa on Friday, Aug. 21, after last-minute changes to proposed U.S. terms prevented an agreement. "Last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal," Carney said in a statement. The tariffs took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 22, under a presidential proclamation issued Aug. 18. Trump originally set Aug. 19 as the implementation date before granting a three-day postponement. Carney estimated the affected Canadian goods were worth about $28 billion; the U.S. Trade Representative valued it at nearly $20 billion. Canada will match the new tariffs dollar for dollar to protect Canadian workers and businesses. The government has already provided nearly $25 billion in support over the past 18 months. The White House identified wine, hockey sticks, and cement among the affected products, excluding energy, potash, and certain national-security-related goods. The U.S. imposed tariffs under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, citing discriminatory treatment of American goods, including provincial restrictions on alcohol sales and dairy quotas. Canada’s CUSMA agreement remains in force despite the suspension of bilateral talks.