US President Trump to impose 50% tariffs on Canadian goods

US President Donald Trump will impose new 50 percent tariffs on many Canadian goods, claiming “discriminatory treatment” by Ottawa against US alcohol, automobile and dairy products.

The tariffs, ordered by Trump on Monday, will take effect in 30 days and cover a range of items, including wine, hockey sticks, and cement, according to a White House fact sheet.

Trump, who saw many of his tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year, is using an untested legal provision for the new duties: Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

The latest duties will not apply to energy, potash, and goods already impacted by sector-specific tariffs, the White House said.

Crucially, however, they will hit products covered under the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement (USMCA).

Responding to the announcement, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the tariffs were a “direct violation” of the USMCA, and added that his country was “ready to intensify… discussions” to resolve disputes with the US.

The tariff announcement quickly raised concerns of escalation among some businesses.

While Trump has slapped sweeping duties on US trading partners since returning to the presidency last year, the orders generally exempted goods entering his country under the North American free trade pact.

His latest actions threaten to further strain ties with the second-largest US trade partner and come just days after he threatened Canada with increased tariffs over a wave of wildfire smoke that descended on the US.

The White House, in announcing the new tariffs, said Canada was one of only two countries – along with China – to retaliate against Trump’s tariffs last year.

It also took aim at the fact that most Canadian provinces have stopped buying US alcohol, boycotting the products over Trump’s tariff threats and repeated calls for annexation of Canada as America’s “51st state”.

“Canada has taken US alcohol products off Canadian shelves, given better market access to dairy products from the European Union, and has put a cap on US vehicle exports to Canada from companies reshoring to the United States,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer charged in a statement.

The tariff announcement aims to “hold Canada accountable for its retaliation and discrimination”, he added.