U.S. Imposes 50% Tariffs on Some Canadian Goods After Trade Talks Fail

AP

U.S. President Donald Trump during a previous White House meeting with Canadian PM Mark Carney.

The United States imposed 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods on Saturday after the two long-standing allies failed to reach a trade agreement, with both sides accusing the other of derailing several days of negotiations.

The tariffs, which took effect shortly after midnight (04:00 GMT), apply to around $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, including products such as wooden ice hockey sticks that are now rarely used.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he had suspended trade negotiations and Canada would retaliate "dollar for dollar" on the new tariffs.

"I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the U.S. and have directed Canada’s negotiators to return to Ottawa," Carney said in a statement.

"They (negotiators) have worked hard, in good faith, to defend the interests of Canadians throughout these negotiations up until the very last minute," he said. "However, last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal."

Hours earlier, the two sides had seemed close to an agreement that sources said, according to Reuters, would have ‌lowered ⁠tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos and potentially brought American alcohol back to Canadian liquor stores.

"Tonight, Canada declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said during a White House briefing.

"This is a missed opportunity for Canada to partner with the United States, which is the fastest-growing economy in the G7," Greer said.

Reuters quoted a senior Trump administration official as saying that the U.S. offer would have put Canada in the best tariff position of any ⁠major exporter to the U.S., but that Canada had sought additional concessions, especially on steel, aluminum, autos and softwood lumber.

No additional talks are scheduled as the U.S. implements the new duties, the official said.

U.S. President Donald Trump last month threatened to impose a range of tariffs on Canadian imports, including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment.

The new tariffs, which apply to goods that do not qualify for preferential treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, could expose already vulnerable sectors to significant damage, potentially leading to job losses and business closures, trade experts have warned.

The decision followed three days of talks in Washington between Canada’s Minister for Trade with the U.S., Dominic LeBlanc, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The latest duties add to existing U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel, lumber and automobiles, sectors that have suffered significant losses over the past 18 months, although the impact has largely remained contained within those industries.



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