U.S.-Canada tariffs are about to take effect, Prime Minister Carney seeks an agreement with Trump at the last minute

(Central News Agency Ottawa/Washington, Comprehensive Foreign News Report on the 18th) The United States will impose tariffs of up to 50% on some Canadian imported goods that will take effect at midnight; Canadian Prime Minister Carney spoke with US President Trump hours before the tariffs took effect today, seeking a last-minute agreement.

According to reports from Reuters and Agence France-Presse, Trump signed an order last month to impose a 50% tariff on Canadian goods; the White House accused Canada of adopting "discriminatory treatment" against American alcohol, automobiles and dairy products.

This is the second phone call this week between Mark Carney and Donald Trump. After weeks of intensive negotiations, neither the United States nor Canada has given a clear explanation of the progress of the negotiations.

Two industry sources familiar with the negotiations said existing U.S. auto tariffs were a sticking point.

The latest U.S. tariffs will cover approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, and will be fully applied regardless of whether they qualify for preferential treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). In the past, under the protection of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, most Canadian industries were protected from the impact of U.S. tariffs.

Although this batch of goods, worth about US$20 billion and accounting for 5.5% of Canada's exports to the United States, has a relatively limited negative impact on Canada's overall economy, a recent report by the British economic research organization "Oxford Economics" pointed out that these tariffs will have a more serious impact on the manufacturing industry in central Canada.

Trade experts and industry figures pointed out that this new wave of tariffs may lead to layoffs and risks of bankruptcy in industries that have been hardest hit, such as timber, wine and dairy products. They also warned that the dispute may make it more difficult to negotiate the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

According to sources, the two sides are discussing reducing the tariffs imposed by the United States on Canadian vehicles under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 from 25% to 15%. In the future, further reductions will be provided based on the "proportion of American content" of each vehicle.

But industry sources said that as of today, it was unclear whether the two sides could reach an agreement on the auto tariff portion before the deadline.

A Canadian auto industry official said that before the US imposed 25% tariffs, the North American auto industry's average profit margin under tariff-free trade was only 6%, so even if the tariffs were reduced to 15%, the burden would still be too high.

The official added that neither the Canadian nor the U.S. domestic auto industry can bear the burden of such tariffs, noting that about half the value of every Canadian-made vehicle actually comes from the U.S. supply chain.