The United States has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on a number of Canadian goods effective today.

This will affect around US$20 billion worth of imported goods.

This announcement comes after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney walked away from trade talks, calling the U.S. terms onerous. 

President Trump chided Canada, saying it wants the benefits of being a state without being one.

Carney replied that the U.S. “asked too much and they offer too little. You are at war when you get attacked. We got attacked.”

The Canadian Prime Minister said the Americans kept making changes to the deal and were looking to impose unfair and uneconomic terms which were totally unacceptable.

He declared that Canada will now match U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar beginning on September 8th, 2026.  He added that Canada is retaliating in order to protect its interests.

With Canada sending around 70 per cent of its exports to the U.S., Canadians are likely to feel the pain as President Trump gets punitive. 

All  Canadian political parties and private and public sector bodies have rallied behind Carney on this and are calling out the United States as being unfair and unrealistic.

Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, said President Trump cannot be trusted as he changes the deal and moves the goalposts. 

The U.S. tariffs will only affect around 5 per cent of Canada’s total goods, having an impact on Canadian beer and whiskey, furniture, cement, textiles and hockey sticks. 

“We will protect Canadian farmers, workers, families and businesses,” asserted Carney. 

President Trump is invoking the Tariff Act of 1930, known as the “Smoot-Hawley” law  (a protectionist trade measure), which allows a President to impose a tariff of 50 per cent on imports from nations that have discriminated against U.S. products.