Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced retaliatory tariffs on the United States after Washington imposed a 50 percent levy on $20bn worth of Canadian goods. Carney, speaking in Ottawa on Saturday, said the new Canadian tariffs would target US steel, dairy and electronics industries among others and take effect on September 8. The announcement came after days of intense negotiations broke down late on Friday, worsening a delicate relationship between the longtime trade partners and allies.
US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs hit sectors including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment, and cover some $20bn worth of goods, or 5.5 percent of Canadian exports to the US. Carney said Trump set conditions that were ultimately unacceptable even though earlier talks had been positive. Carney is one of the few global leaders to retaliate against US tariffs and has pledged to forge new trade and military alliances, despite Canada’s dependence on the US for nearly 70 percent of its exports.
Canada will impose tariffs on US steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics, along with some products the US previously targeted in Canada, Carney said from Ottawa’s Parliament building. The government will release details on its response in the coming days, he said. Carney said Canada would announce support measures next week for industries hit by the new US duties, adding these measures could last years.
There was no immediate comment from the White House. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox News on Saturday that no new talks are planned with Canada. At the same time, Mercer said, Carney is selling the trade war as an opportunity for Canada to strengthen its trade relations with other countries.
Public opinion surveys in Canada show most Canadians back a “tougher approach” to the US in the trade talks. A poll by Leger last week said 56 percent of Canadians favoured a hard line and making no more concessions. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, one of the most vocal opponents of US tariffs, supported Carney’s decision to retaliate.
It was a bad deal for Ontario. It was a bad deal for the auto sector, the steel sector, and manufacturing sector,” Ford told reporters on Saturday. In Port Colborne, Ontario, resident Stuart Edwards said the trade war was going to “hurt everybody” and “it’s just sad”.
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