OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a new 50% tariff on Canadian goods, accusing Canada of discriminating against American automakers, alcohol producers and dairy exporters.The new duties will take effect August 19 and apply to a wide range of products, including goods previously entitled to duty-free treatment under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.Energy products, potash, fish and critical minerals are among the exemptions, according to The Associated Press.Trump signed three proclamations Monday using Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, an obscure provision allowing the president to impose tariffs of up to 50% against countries found to discriminate against American commerce.The tariffs imposed under the proclamations will be added to other applicable duties, although products already subject to U.S. national-security tariffs under Section 232 are excluded.In the first proclamation, Trump accused Ottawa of treating vehicles from other countries more favourably than American-made automobiles..Canada imposed a 25% tariff on some U.S. vehicles in April 2025 in retaliation for tariffs Trump placed on the Canadian auto industry.Trump said the Canadian measures caused U.S. vehicle exports to Canada to fall by about 22% between April 2025 and March 2026 compared with the previous year.He also took aim at Canadian provincial liquor policies.Beginning in March 2025, provinces and territories pulled American alcoholic beverages from their distribution systems and store shelves in response to Trump’s tariffs and threats against Canada.Only Alberta and Saskatchewan later lifted those restrictions, according to the White House proclamation.The White House said American alcohol exports to Canada subsequently fell by 81%, from about $718 million to $137 million.Trump described the provincial actions as discriminatory because liquor from other countries remained available.A third proclamation targeted Canada’s treatment of American cheese.Trump argued Canada’s tariff-rate quota system gives European cheese exporters better access to the Canadian market than American producers receive under CUSMA.The escalation comes one day after Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney sat together at the World Cup final.A senior Trump administration official said their time together was not a working meeting and the two leaders did not negotiate over the new tariffs.The administration said Canada was being punished in part because it was one of the few countries, along with China, to retaliate against Trump’s earlier trade measures.Trump has separately directed his officials to examine whether Canada should face additional tariffs because smoke from Canadian wildfires has crossed into the United States and damaged American air quality.Those potential wildfire-related tariffs were not included in Monday’s proclamations.Carney responded Monday evening by calling the tariffs the latest in a series of unilateral U.S. trade actions that began with measures imposed in “direct violation” of CUSMA.“These include tariffs on the Canadian auto sector, in violation of CUSMA,” Carney said. “Canada, as is its right, has merely matched those measures.”Carney said Canada has made “detailed and comprehensive proposals” to settle the dispute and modernize CUSMA, adding that Ottawa is prepared to intensify discussions with Washington in the coming weeks.“This trade dispute has raised costs for families, particularly in the U.S.,” he said. “Canada stands ready to engage intensively to address outstanding issues with the U.S. to the mutual benefit of our citizens.”Carney did not announce immediate retaliatory measures but said Canada would take “any measures necessary” to strengthen its economy and support Canadian workers, farmers, businesses and families.The federal Conservatives also condemned Trump’s tariffs as an “unacceptable and unjustified attack” on Canadian workers and businesses.“Canadians are not a punching bag,” said a joint statement from Conservative critics Shuvaloy Majumdar, Eric Duncan, Stephanie Kusie and Quebec lieutenant Pierre Paul-Hus. “These tariffs must be withdrawn immediately.”The Conservatives also accused Carney of failing to deliver the trade agreement he promised Canadians and surrendering Canada’s negotiating leverage.“President Trump is wrong to target Canadian workers and must reverse these tariffs immediately,” the statement said. “And Mark Carney was wrong to surrender Canada’s leverage for over a year and a half, without actually working to secure the deal he promised.”The Conservatives said they would fight for Canadian workers, businesses and “a strong, sovereign and united Canada.”
