OTTAWA, Aug. 22 — A 50% U.S. tariff on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian imports took full effect on Saturday after a last-minute breakdown in bilateral trade negotiations, prompting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to announce immediate “dollar-for-dollar” retaliatory duties on $28 billion in U.S. goods.
The levies, imposed under Section 338 of the Trade Act, cover products ranging from Canadian wine and dairy to motor vehicles and lumber. Originally set to take effect on August 19, they were paused for three days to allow final negotiations — which collapsed Friday night without agreement.
“Our allies must understand: this is not a negotiation tactic. This is policy,” a senior White House trade official said. Carney, speaking to reporters in Ottawa late Friday, called the tariffs “an act of economic hostility between allies” and vowed Canada would “not be bullied.”
The escalation marks the sharpest rupture in U.S.-Canadian trade relations in modern history and threatens to disrupt deeply integrated North American supply chains, particularly in automotive and agricultural sectors.