The U.S. imposed tariffs on imports from Canada after the deal fell through
22 August 16:14
On the night of Saturday, August 22, the United States imposed a 50% tariff on a range of goods from Canada totaling approximately $20 billion. This was reported by [Komersant], citing DW.
These tariffs will affect 5.5% of all Canadian exports to the neighboring country. The new measures took effect after representatives from the two countries failed to reach an agreement on a new trade deal during three days of negotiations in Washington.
Ottawa was represented in the discussions by Minister for Trade with the United States Dominique LeBlanc, while Washington was represented by U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer.
“Tonight, Canada refused to finalize a trade agreement on the terms agreed upon earlier this week,” Greer said following the August 21 talks, speaking at a White House briefing.
For example, as noted by the BBC, the U.S. was prepared to lower tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum from 50% to 25%, and on automobiles from 25% to 15%. In return, Ottawa would resume sales of American alcohol.
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The terms proposed by Washington would have given Canada the most favorable tariff conditions among all major exporters to the U.S. market, but Ottawa insisted on additional concessions, Reuters reports, citing a senior official in U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. In particular, the Canadian side reportedly requested even greater reductions in tariffs on steel, aluminum, automobiles, and softwood lumber. The agency’s source emphasized that there are no plans to resume negotiations with Canada following the imposition of the new tariffs.
Carney: U.S. Proposed “Unfair” Changes “at the Last Minute”
On August 21—after trade agreement negotiations broke down but before the new 50% U.S. tariffs took effect—Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a statement commenting on the situation. According to him, in recent weeks the country’s leadership had managed to “make significant progress” in strengthening its position in negotiations with the U.S., but “this proved insufficient” to achieve its goals.
“As a result, this evening I decided to suspend trade negotiations with the U.S. and instructed the Canadian negotiators to return to Ottawa. <...> The last-minute changes to the terms proposed by the U.S. were unfair, non-market-oriented, and called into question the reliability of any agreement,” Carney noted.
According to the Canadian prime minister’s estimate, the new 50 percent tariffs will affect goods worth approximately $28 billion.
“Canada will respond with an equivalent tariff for every dollar—to protect our workers and businesses,” he added.
Trump had threatened to impose 50% tariffs on Canada starting in late July
The U.S. president signed executive orders imposing additional tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods on July 20. He cited “discriminatory treatment” by Canadian authorities toward American alcoholic beverages, automobiles, and dairy products. The executive order was set to take effect on August 19, so Ottawa had the opportunity to avoid the new tariffs through negotiations.
On the eve of the deadline, Trump announced that he was suspending the 50% tariffs for three days due to progress in the discussions. In particular, according to the U.S. president, the parties agreed to resume the Keystone XL pipeline project, which was intended to transport oil from Canada to the U.S. The project had been canceled under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.
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