ABD-Kanada tarifelerinin yürürlüğe girmesine az kala Başbakan Carney bir anlaşma aramak için son dakikada Trump ile görüştü

(Central News Agency, Ottawa/Washington, 18 Combined Foreign Reports) The U.S. measure to impose tariffs of up to 50% on certain Canadian imported goods is set to take effect at midnight. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump by phone just hours before the tariffs take effect, seeking a last-minute deal.

According to 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 "discriminatory treatment" toward U.S. alcohol, automobiles, and dairy products.

This is the second phone call this week between Mark Carney and Donald Trump. Following weeks of intensive negotiations, neither the U.S. nor Canadian side has provided clear statements on the progress of the talks.

Two industry sources familiar with the negotiation details revealed that the existing U.S. auto tariffs are a major sticking point.

The latest U.S. tariffs will cover approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian imported goods and will apply universally, regardless of whether they qualify for preferential treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Previously, under the protection of the USMCA, the majority of Canadian industries were shielded from U.S. tariffs.

Although this batch of goods, worth about $20 billion and accounting for 5.5% of Canada's exports to the U.S., has a relatively limited negative impact on Canada's overall economy, a recent report by the British economic research firm Oxford Economics pointed out that these tariffs will hit manufacturing industries in central Canada much harder.

Trade experts and industry insiders point out that this wave of new tariffs could lead to the risk of layoffs and closures in industries bearing the brunt, such as lumber, wine, and dairy products. They also warned that the dispute could deepen the difficulty of negotiations for the USMCA.

According to sources, the two sides are discussing reducing the tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Canadian vehicles under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 from 25% to 15%, with further reductions to be granted in the future based on the "U.S. content percentage" of each vehicle.

However, industry sources stated that as of today, it remains unclear whether the two sides can reach an agreement on the auto tariffs before the deadline.

A Canadian auto industry official stated that before the U.S. imposed the 25% tariff, the average profit margin of the North American auto industry under duty-free trade was only 6%, so even if the tariff is reduced to 15%, the burden remains too high.

The official added that neither the Canadian nor the domestic U.S. auto industry can bear such a tariff burden, and pointed out that about half of the value of every vehicle manufactured in Canada actually comes from the U.S. supply chain.