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The United States has imposed a 50% tariff on some Canadian goods after Washington and Ottawa failed to reach a bilateral trade agreement.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Friday night that Canada had refused to finalise a trade deal on terms it had agreed to earlier in the week. The new “Trump tariffs” took effect early Saturday.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said last-minute changes to the US terms were unfair, economically unjustifiable and raised questions about the reliability of any agreement.
Carney said Canada would respond immediately with retaliatory measures, imposing “dollar-for-dollar” tariffs on US goods in response to the US action.
Washington and Ottawa had been negotiating ahead of the implementation of new higher tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump in July. Trump had warned that Canada could face 50% tariffs on some goods if no agreement was reached within 30 days.
According to Reuters, proposals included reducing US tariffs on Canadian-made vehicles from 25% to 15% and cutting tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium to 25%.
Around 70% of Canada’s total exports are destined for the United States, leaving the Canadian economy vulnerable to Washington’s punitive trade measures.
Even if a deal had been reached, Prime Minister Carney would have faced a difficult task convincing Canadians and the country’s 10 provinces to accept it.
A poll published on August 19 found that 56% of Canadians wanted the government to take a tougher stance against the United States and opposed making further concessions.
Source: Deutsche Welle (DW)
