Canada on Tuesday announced that it is imposing tariffs of up to 50% on about $20 billion of U.S. imports, aiming to match the Trump administration’s recently announced import duties on Canadian imports.
“Today, I’m announcing Canada will match the U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar, up to 50% on $27.6 billion of imports from the United States of America,” Canadian Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne said in a press conference to announce the measure. “For each product, our tariff would match the U.S. tariff on the same type of good.”
The amount of goods impacted by the new tariffs, announced in Canadian dollars, translates to about $20 billion in U.S. dollars. The tariffs will focus on steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics that are targeted by the measures announced by the Trump administration.
The Canadian tariffs on U.S. imports will take effect on Sept. 8.
Canada Industry Minister Mélanie Joly urged Canadians to buy domestically produced goods, saying that would help protect jobs and launch a “movement of resistance.”
Canadian officials also announced aid for workers and businesses that could be hurt by the U.S.-imposed tariffs, including loans and income support for employees.
The tension threatens one of the world’s most significant trading relationships. The new tariffs will extend well beyond industrial goods, hitting everyday purchases such as seafood, cheese, clothing, cosmetics and toilet paper. Canadian officials said that the measures are designed to protect their nation’s businesses and workers.
Canada’s retaliation came after the Trump administration on Aug. 22 imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian goods following the collapse of trade negotiations between the two nations. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada and said U.S. demands during the failed talks showed that Americans wanted to “destroy our major industries.”
On Tuesday, Champagne said Canada’s plan is to strengthen its own economy and extend trade relations with other countries, noting that he plans to meet a trade official from India this week. He also mentioned that Canada is entering the trade war with the U.S. from a position of fiscal strength, with the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio among the G7 nations and a triple-A credit rating.
“Ultimately, the terms proposed by the U.S. were uneconomic, unfair and ultimately, unacceptable,” Champagne said. “We stood up for our workers. We stood up for our businesses. We stood up for Canada.”
Impact on consumers
Canada said it will impose tariffs of 15%, 25%, and 50% on products targeted by the U.S.
“While the value of goods covered by these reciprocal tariff measures is only a fraction of the annual bilateral trade in goods between the two countries, at over $700 billion, these tariff lists include some goods that could have broad downstream effects on industries, trades, professions and consumers,” Augustine Lo, a partner with international law firm Dorsey & Whitney, said in an email.
The new U.S. 50% levies on Canadian goods were enacted under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which grants the White House authority to impose duties on imports from a trade partner that is discriminating against U.S. commerce.
The U.S. products that Canada will target with new tariffs include:
- Fish imports like salmon and trout: 25% tariff
- Lobsters and mollusks like clams: 25% tariff
- Carpets and floor coverings: 25% tariff
- Appliances like stoves and air conditioners: 25% tariff
- Milk, cream and cheese: 50% tariff
- Perfume and other cosmetics: 50% tariff
- Toilet paper and facial tissue: 50% tariff
- Clothing like men’s and women’s coats: 50% tariff
- Video game consoles: 50% tariff
- Golf clubs and fishing rods: 50% tariff
- Steel products: 50% tariff
- Aluminum products: 50% tariff
Further escalating the trade fight, President Trump on Monday announced on social media that the U.S. would impose a 50% tariff on all Canadian automotive and steel imports, effective Jan. 1, 2027.
“Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Lo of Dorsey & Whitney warned that the heated rhetoric and volley of tariffs pose significant economic risks for both countries.
“Until the two sides are willing to pull back and hash out differences through negotiations, there is risk that the dispute could spiral into a full-scale trade war affecting an even wider range of goods and services traded across the northern border.”
