The US Slaps 50% Tariffs on Canadian Products as Trade Talks Fall Apart; Mark Carney Warns of Retaliating “Dollar for Dollar
WASHINGTON/OTTAWA: The economic relationship between the two most economically connected countries in North America has deteriorated after a final attempt to work out trade talks between the US and Canada has failed. The US has officially imposed punitive tariffs at the level of 50% on Canadian imports and PM Mark Carney suspends all trade talks and threatens to retaliate “dollar for dollar”.
Tariffs apply to the estimated $20 billion to $28 billion of Canadian exports destined to the US. The diplomatic row followed a three-day extension of talks offered by US President Donald Trump, which ended unsuccessfully and could not solve any problems of market access and trade barriers in both countries.
Negotiations Break Down
On Friday evening, Prime Minister Carney announced the suspension of Canada’s negotiating team from Washington.
“These people worked hard and honestly for the interests of Canadians during this process of trade talks up until the last minute,” Carney said. “Unfortunately, the last minute change in the terms of the proposal made by the American side is absolutely unfair and uneconomical.”
Carney continued and said that Ottawa will not back down to economic extortion. “From midnight, the US will start imposing 50% tariff on about $28 billion worth of Canadian goods,” Carney added. “We will respond the same way to protect our citizens and companies.”
The US blamed Canada for the failure of the talks. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that Canada succeeded to “disrupt a carefully crafted consensus early in the week”. According to Greer, the Trump administration offered “substantial tariff reductions on steel, aluminum, automobiles, and lumber” in exchange for some concessions on behalf of Canadians.
Increasing Economic Disparity
A tariff of 50 percent is applied to all main items imported from Canada into America including both raw materials and finished goods. President Trump had previously used his powers under the trade emergency powers to make known his dissatisfaction with regulations in Canada concerning imports of liquor and automobile products from America, as well as the administration of dairy exports.
Canadian political leaders have shown full backing to Carney’s tough stance. The Premier of the province of Ontario, Doug Ford, has declared full support in the response to US tariffs stating “everything needs to be on the table” in the fight for Canadian economic sovereignty.
As negotiations between the two nations are now impossible, experts feel that retaliatory tariffs of both the nations that had traded about $880 billion in the past year will have adverse effects on global supply chains and hamper North American economic development.
