US imposes 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products, Canada vows retaliation

The United States imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products early Saturday after last-ditch negotiations failed to resolve the latest strain in relations between the two longtime allies. Canada immediately announced that it would retaliate.

The import taxes imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump will affect about 5% of the goods Canada exports to the United States each year, ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement, “Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses.”

The retaliation is expected to further escalate the trade conflict and raises questions about the future of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is crucial to industries across all three North American countries.

Canada had sought concessions from the United States on tariffs covering steel, aluminum, automobiles and lumber, but the Trump administration was unwilling to provide them, a senior Trump administration official told reporters.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement read to reporters shortly before midnight that Canada had declined to finalize a trade agreement based on terms agreed earlier in the week.

Greer said the United States had offered Canada the best treatment of any major exporter to the U.S. market, but that new Canadian demands and reversals on previous commitments had disrupted the balance that had been carefully negotiated in recent days.

Carney, however, blamed Washington for the breakdown in negotiations. He said last-minute changes to the U.S. proposal were unfair and economically damaging and raised questions about the reliability of any agreement.

Carney said he had suspended negotiations and instructed Canada’s negotiating team to return to Ottawa.

He also said his government would announce additional support for Canadian workers and businesses in the coming days.

The new tariffs and Canada’s planned retaliation mark a significant escalation in the trade dispute between the two countries and could put further pressure on their longstanding economic relationship.