Canada to Begin New Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Goods Sept. 8

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saturday that Canada would impose new retaliatory tariffs on US goods beginning Tuesday, Sept. 8, following the collapse of trade negotiations with Washington.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced new retaliatory tariffs on US goods after trade negotiations with Washington broke down. [Photo: U.S. Steel]

“In the coming days, we will release the details of these new tariff measures, which will come into force the Tuesday after Labor Day,” Carney said, according to CBS News and Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.

The dollar-for-dollar retaliation is expected to target products including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.

Carney said Canada had been willing to remove its remaining retaliatory tariffs on US steel, aluminum and automobiles if Washington substantially reduced its own tariffs. Canada had also offered to encourage provinces to restore sales of US alcoholic beverages.

However, Carney said the US administration's final demands went too far. “They asked too much and offered too little,” he said.

Canada rejected all 13 US demands, which reportedly included special treatment for Canadian metals, lower tariffs on US products, changes involving foreign investment in Canada, sanctions against countries targeted by the United States, changes to Canadian tax policies and the dismantling of protections for Canadian products.

“The new US tariffs are designed to hurt us and divide us. They're a miscalculation,” Carney said.

“They're a miscalculation because Canadians will always take care of each other. We know we're stronger together.”

Canada had sought concessions from Washington on US tariffs affecting steel, aluminum, automobiles and lumber. A senior Trump administration official said the United States was unwilling to provide the concessions Canada sought.

Carney said last-minute changes to Washington's proposed terms were “unfair, uneconomic” and called into question the reliability of any potential agreement.

He suspended negotiations and directed Canada's negotiating team to return to Ottawa.