Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on a range of US goods in response to the latest wave of levies imposed by President Donald Trump on Canadian imports.
The counter-tariffs will cover nearly C$28 billion ($20 billion; £15 billion) worth of American products, including steel, furniture, fresh tuna and cotton T-shirts, Canadian officials announced on Tuesday.
The tariffs, which are designed to match the Canadian goods targeted by the US, will take effect on September 8.
The latest escalation follows the collapse of US-Canada trade talks late last week, with both sides accusing each other of making unreasonable last-minute demands.
Canada’s Finance Minister, François-Philippe Champagne, said the measures were in response to the 50% tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on a range of Canadian goods after negotiations broke down on Friday.
“Those tariffs will have real consequences for Canadian workers, businesses and communities across our nation,” he said. “Canada must respond.”
Champagne described Canada’s retaliation as “proportionate” and “strategic”.
He also announced an additional C$7.5 billion in support programmes for businesses and workers affected by the US tariffs, aimed at limiting job losses and helping companies remain operational.
The escalating trade dispute is expected to increase costs on both sides of the border, with businesses and consumers potentially facing higher prices.
Supply chains built over decades between the two countries could also face increased trading costs as the new tariffs take effect.
Polls indicate that a majority of Canadians support the government’s decision to stand firm against the US.
However, questions remain over why the latest trade negotiations collapsed. Canada’s Conservative opposition has called for the full text of the draft agreement with Washington to be released.
Businesses have also warned about the potential consequences of a prolonged trade war with Canada’s largest trading partner.
Following Canada’s announcement, the White House said the US had been prepared to offer Canada “the most preferential market access of any country on Earth” during recent negotiations.
“Instead of partnership, Canada chose unreasonable demands, walk-backs, and flat-out rejection,” it said.
Trump, in a series of Tuesday posts on Truth Social, accused Canada of “ripping off” the US for decades and criticised its tariffs on American farmers.
“I deal with many countries, and Canada is easily the most difficult and unreasonable,” Trump wrote. “They feel entitled, but they are not a State, and will be entitled no longer!”
Trump also suggested renaming Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes along the US-Canada border, as Lake America.
“We don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer.”
He separately threatened to raise US tariffs on Canadian automobiles to 50% from January 1.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Trump of seeking to “destroy” Canadian industries, including automobile manufacturing and the steel and aluminium sectors.
Tensions between the two countries reached a peak on Monday, although officials on Tuesday adopted a more diplomatic tone amid hopes that negotiations could resume.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who called Trump a “loser” at a news conference on Monday, later acknowledged in an interview with CNN that “things got a little heated”.
“But I want to make a deal — a good deal for the American people, a good deal for Canadians,” Ford said.
The escalating dispute has also raised questions about the future of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the North American free trade pact linking the three countries.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has meanwhile sent her Economy Secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, to Washington for emergency talks following the breakdown of negotiations between Canada and the US.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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