Canada to impose tariffs on wide range of US sectors from September

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canadian tariffs on US goods will come into effect on September 8, in response to the new 50 percent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, which took effect at midnight.

According to Reuters, this development follows days of intense negotiations in which the two countries failed to reach a trade agreement late on Friday, further straining the long-standing partnership between the two allies and trading partners.

The new US tariffs target a wide range of sectors, including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing equipment, and hockey gear, covering Canadian exports worth around $20 billion across the southern border.

These tariffs do not grant any exemptions for Canadian products under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which had protected most Canadian exports to the US over the past 18 months.

In a press conference, Carney stated, according to Reuters, "Canada will respond to the new tariffs imposed by Washington dollar-for-dollar to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses."

Carney added in a speech from Parliament in Ottawa that these tariffs will affect sectors such as steel, dairy products, home appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics, and will also include products currently subject to unjustified tariffs.

The Prime Minister said the government will announce further details in the coming days, adding, "We cannot accept what they have offered, nor will we provide what they have requested." He noted that the United States had recently proposed new, non-economic and unfair conditions that undermined Canada's net benefits, raising doubts about the reliability of any agreement. He added that these demands included restricting Canada's ability to enter into new trade agreements.