Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on US take effect as trade dispute escalates

Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars worth of American imports took effect, escalating a trade fight that has seen rising tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The tariffs took effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday and range from 15% to 50% and apply to $20 billion of U.S. imports of products. The measures target industries such as steel, dairy, appliances, farm equipment, pulp and paper and electronics—industries hit hardest by U.S. tariffs.

The retaliatory tariffs come “as a result of the United States’ decision to impose a 50 percent tariff on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods effective August 22,” the Canadian government said.

“Canadian countermeasures do not apply to U.S. goods that are in transit to Canada on the date they take effect,” it added.

Last month, Trump announced a new 50 percent tariff on cars and raw materials from Canada. He accused the country of “ripping off” the US “for years.” The U.S. tariffs hit items such as hockey sticks and cement, affecting about 5.5% of Canadian exports to the United States.

Tensions between Canada and the United States have increased since then, with Carney last week calling on the Trump administration to “start getting serious” as the trade dispute increasingly escalates into broader diplomatic tensions.

Trump and senior U.S. officials have repeatedly criticized Canada and its leadership, while Trump has made a series of symbolic digs into Canada, including signing an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America,” which Canadians rejected.

On Monday, Trump threatened to block Canada’s Bombardier Aviation’s U.S. sales unless the Quebec-based planemaker moves production to the United States.

“No more Bombardier sales in the US!” Trump posted messages in all caps on his Truth Social platform, although he did not specify how he would stop the sales.

Thousands of Bombardier aircraft are currently in service in U.S. domestic airline fleets.

In a statement Monday, the aerospace company touted the creation of “tens of thousands of jobs across the United States” with “direct employment” in more than 20 states, including Kansas, Texas, Arizona and California.

The company also noted that it spends more than $2.5 billion annually on suppliers and said its supply chain “consists of approximately 2,800 U.S. companies in 47 states.”

Talks between the two sides broke down on Aug. 21 after several days of meetings in Washington, with Carney saying at the time that the Trump administration’s terms were ultimately unacceptable and that U.S. negotiators had placed restrictions on Canada’s trade deals with other countries at the 11th hour.

U.S. officials also made unacceptable “threats” to the French language and “Quebec culture,” he added, referring to the French-speaking province in eastern Canada, with Carney saying U.S. negotiators viewed the measures as an “irritant” while “in Quebec they are rights.”

But Trump’s chief trade representative, Jamison Greer, later noted that the US government recognizes that protecting the French language is a sensitive and important issue.

“This is not something we should push hard or set conditions or red lines,” he told Canadian public broadcaster CBC last month.

Polls show Carney has broad support among Canadians, but political analysts say he could fade within months as the effects of the trade war are felt.

Only 20% of Americans approved of Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Carney said last week that his government was ready to sign a trade agreement that would benefit both countries, but US media reports saidre currently no ongoing negotiations between the two sides.

In association with Agence France-Presse and Reuters.