Canada Announces Dollar-for-Dollar Retaliation Against 50% U.S. Tariffs

Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs matching new U.S. trade duties “dollar for dollar” starting Sept. 8, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saturday, escalating trade tensions after negotiations between the two countries broke down.

The United States introduced 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian products early Saturday after last-minute talks failed to produce an agreement. Canada’s countermeasures will target several major industries, including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.

“They asked too much and offered too little,” Carney said of Washington’s final trade demands.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada declined to finalize a deal based on terms that had been discussed earlier in the week. He later told Fox News that there were “no new planned talks with the Canadians,” adding that Washington would move ahead with measures aimed at protecting U.S. workers and supply chains.

Carney said Canada had offered to remove its remaining retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel, aluminum and automobiles if Washington significantly reduced its own duties. Ottawa was also prepared to encourage Canadian provinces to resume sales of U.S. alcoholic beverages.

However, Carney suspended negotiations and ordered Canada’s trade team back to Ottawa after the United States made late changes to its proposed terms. He described those revisions as “unfair” and “uneconomic” and said they raised doubts about the reliability of any potential agreement.

The new U.S. tariffs are expected to affect roughly 5% of Canada’s annual exports to its largest trading partner, covering products ranging from hockey sticks to medical supplies. Canada and the United States exchanged approximately $880 billion in goods and services last year.

President Donald Trump had initially scheduled the tariffs to begin Wednesday but extended the deadline by three days to allow further negotiations.

The Trump administration already applies a 10% tariff to Canadian goods, although most imports remain exempt under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Canada is the United States’ second-largest trading partner after Mexico, making the latest tariff escalation a significant development for North American trade.