President Donald Trump on Monday announced that he will impose a 50 percent tariff on some Canadian goods next month, ratcheting up the trade war between the two countries after months of political tension.
The administration took three actions using Section 338 of Tariff Act of 1930, a law never before used to impose tariffs, but which the administration says allows it to respond to discriminatory treatment of U.S. products.
The tariff hikes, which apply to a range of Canadian exports from wine and honey to textiles, fishing rods, jewelry and furniture, will not go into effect until Aug. 19. Unlike previous rounds of tariffs on Canada, products covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the North American trade pact Trump inked during his first term, will not be exempt. The latest White House action comes as the Trump administration intensifies negotiations on updates to that pact, which entered into a review period at the beginning of July. The Trump administration has thus far kept Canada largely sidelined as it focus on formal negotiations with Mexico to extend the agreement.
The White House has been particularly irked at Canada over its retaliation for Trump’s tariff hikes on imports of steel and aluminum, which include comparable Canadian duties as well as U.S. alcohol boycotts by many of Canada’s provinces.
“While the Administration continues to secure fair and reciprocal trade deals with our trading partners, Canada, unlike other partners and allies, continues to retaliate against the United States for its efforts to rebalance trade and protect U.S. industry in national-security sensitive sectors,” USTR Jamieson Greer said in a statement.
Ari Hawkins contributed to this report.
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