Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to issue retaliatory, “dollar-for-dollar” tariffs after the United States enacted steep new duties on the country. Carney addressed Canadians on Saturday, just hours after the US imposed 50 percent tariffs on nearly $20bn worth of the country’s goods. The prime minister promised a “focused response”, beginning September 8, that would level tariffs on US imports like steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, paper and electronics.
The newest import taxes were first announced in July, as part of an ongoing back-and-forth over trade between the two countries. Since the start of his second term, Trump has sought to ratchet up pressure on Canada, as part of a push to increase US influence over the Western Hemisphere and advance US priorities. In announcing the 50 percent tariffs on July 20, Trump accused Canada of “discriminatory treatment” in its trade policies.
The two neighbours are longtime allies and have been among each other’s largest trading partners for decades. Negotiators on both sides, however, have sought to stop Trump’s latest round of tariffs from taking effect, achieving a postponement from a previous deadline on Wednesday. But despite marathon talks in the three days since, they failed to finalise a trade deal.
The revised tariff deadline expired at midnight Eastern US time ( ). Carney, who said Canada had been “pragmatic, patient and persistent”, explained on Saturday that his country walked away from the discussions because the US “asked too much and they offered too little”. He also accused the US of introducing last-minute demands that scuttled the negotiations.
When reporters pressed him for specifics, Carney referred to 11th-hour changes regarding car imports, as well as restrictions on Canada’s ability to forge new trade alliances. They had language that wanted to restrict that. Unacceptable.” Carney also criticised the US’s shifting rationale for imposing the cross-border tariffs, pointing to remarks Trump has made citing drug-trafficking, television advertisements and wildfire smoke as reasons for increasing import duties on Canadian products.
Since taking office in 2025, Carney has been at loggerheads with Trump, who returned to the White House for a second term that same year. Trump has repeatedly used far-reaching tariffs as leverage to secure more beneficial deals from US trading partners. Experts say his aggressive foreign policy has also alienated some of the country’s longstanding allies.
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