The U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products early Saturday after last-ditch negotiations failed to resolve the latest strain in already tense relations between the historic allies. Canada’s leader said it will retaliate beginning Sept. 8.
In a call with reporters late Friday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada had declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms that had been agreed to earlier this week. He told Fox News on Saturday that there are “no new planned talks with the Canadians.”
“We’re moving forward with measures that respond to Canadian retaliation,” Greer said, adding: “After a year of that retaliation, we’ve said enough, and so we’ve taken countermeasures. Our interest is in protecting American workers and protecting American supply chains. We’ve been offering to bring the Canadians along on that path, really to cut the tariffs on them, on steel, on tariff autos, even lumber, things that are sensitive for them, and they’ve always had the best deal, and they still would have an even better deal, but they didn’t want that.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saturday that “in the coming days, we will release the details of these new tariff measures, which will come into force the Tuesday after Labor Day.” The dollar-for-dollar retaliation would target steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics.
President Trump hit back early Sunday with a Truth Social post saying Canada wanted “the benefits of being a State, without being one.”
“They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of Tariffs,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Carney disclosed that Canada had been willing to drop remaining retaliatory tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos if the U.S. substantially lowered its own, and to encourage provinces to restore U.S. alcohol sales.
