Donald Trump to impose 50% tariff on most Canadian goods, White House says
Turmoil likely as Trump officials say Canada unfairly discriminated against US autos, alcohol and dairy products
Donald Trump is imposing 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, White House officials said on Monday, declaring Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products
The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump’s return to the White House
The new tariffs will exclude energy products, fish, critical minerals and potash. They also include goods previously protected from import taxes under the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement
Trump had threatened last week to impose tariffs due to smoke from devastating wildfires in Canada drifting across large portions of the US
“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!” he wrote on Truth Social
The administration official previewing Monday’s action said the new tariffs were in response to Canada’s retaliationover past tariffs
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The official insisted on anonymity on a call with reporters to preview the president’s actions, and said that Trump signed three proclamations to launch the tariffs under Section 338 of the 1930 Trade Act. Several Democratic lawmakers last year proposed repealing the section because they said Trump could use it to destabilize the economy
The official said that Trump had also requested that his aides look intoadditional tariffs on Canada because its wildfires hurt air quality in the US
Trump watched Sunday’s World Cup final with Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister who has previously pushed back on the US president and won the premiership last year on a platform of promising to stand up for Canada
After the match, Trump told reporters he had raised the issue of wildfire smoke with Carney
“I told him, I mean, ‘You got to stop these fires from coming in and, you know, poisoning our air. Our air has been poisoned,’” Trump said of their conversation
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Trump claims in the proclamations that Canada discriminates against American autos, alcohol and cheese relative to other nations, but his argument rests in large part on retaliatory actions taken by Canada after the US president imposed tariffs on Canada under the pretext that it should do more to stop fentanyl smuggling
Trump noted in his autos proclamation that Canada maintained, starting in April 2025, a 25% tariff on the imports of US motor vehicles that did not qualify for preferential treatment under the USMCA
The White House said regarding alcohol that all but two Canadian provinces and territories halted the purchase and retailing of American alcoholic beverages beginning last year, which was also a response to Trump’s tariffs and tauntsof making Canada the 51st state
Trump also objected to Canada’s treatment of US cheese, saying in his proclamation that Canada discriminates against the US compared to Europe on dairy products
The Associated Press contributed reporting
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