Canada imposes tariffs on 20 billion US products in retaliation for Trump surcharges

The commercial standoff between Canada and the United States is becoming increasingly tense. Since Tuesday, Ottawa has now applied customs duties of 15%, 25% or 50% on approximately $20 billion in American products, or $27.6 billion Canadian dollars. Steel, dairy products, electronics and even paper pulp are among the goods concerned.

The Canadian government presents these measures as a response to the 50% American surcharges applied since August 22 to certain Canadian products. According to Ottawa, the value of the goods concerned corresponds “to the nearest dollar” to that minted by the United States. The escalation comes after the breakdown, on August 21, of negotiations between Canada and the White House.

“This change of course will have a cost,” says Carney

Mark Carney assumes this strategy despite the risks for an economy closely linked to his neighbor. Nearly 60% of Canadian imports come from the United States and approximately 70% of the country's exports are destined there. In an intervention broadcast on YouTube, the Prime Minister recognized that “this change of course will have a cost”, while estimating that the “cost of inaction” would be higher. He added that Canada's future "will not be decided in Washington."

The Canadian government wants to reduce this dependence through new energy and mining projects as well as the search for additional commercial partners. Mark Carney accuses Washington of having wanted to impose an “unfair” agreement which, according to him, would have made Canada a “subsidiary” of the United States and threatened its industry. He also asserts that American conditions would have called into question certain measures linked to the French language, including the place of French-speaking media online and bilingual labeling.

Numerous provocations from Donald Trump

Political tension remains high. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday asked Mark Carney to “stop campaigning and start governing”, while assuring that the trade conflict would not have an economic cost for the United States. Donald Trump, for his part, increased the provocations, notably with an image generated by artificial intelligence showing the Canadian leader on the ground on an ice rink and accompanied by the phrase “Stand up Governor”.

Our file on American customs duties

Despite these exchanges, contacts are not interrupted. A spokesperson for Canadian negotiator Dominic LeBlanc indicated that “no official trade negotiations” had resumed, but that Canadian and American officials continued to discuss. Mark Carney at the same time denounced “unworthy” comments after Scott Bessent’s mockery of the Canadian army and called on the Trump administration to stop “playing tough”.