Trump in trouble, Canada vows dollar-for-dollar tariff response after US trade talks collapse
Carney says Washington asked too much and offered too little as Trump imposes new 50% tariffs
By The South Asia Times
OTTAWA — Canada will match new US tariffs “dollar for dollar,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said after last-ditch trade negotiations with Washington collapsed, sharply escalating tensions between the two close economic partners.
Carney said the United States had proposed terms in recent days that were “uneconomic, unfair” and undermined the benefits Canada expected from a potential agreement. “In short, they asked too much, and they offered too little,” he said.
The United States has imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, covering products including dairy, steel, electronics, appliances and other manufactured goods. The measures took effect after negotiations failed to produce an agreement.
Carney said Canada’s retaliatory tariffs would take effect Sept. 8, describing them as a focused response designed to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses and allow domestic industries to compete with US products.
“America is trying to break us, so they can own us,” Carney said, adding that Canada was becoming “stronger and less dependent on America.”
The prime minister said Ottawa was “walking away from a bad deal” rather than accepting terms that would undermine Canadian interests.
The collapse follows weeks of negotiations over the future of the two countries’ trade relationship, including tariffs on automobiles, steel, aluminum and other sectors.
Washington has blamed Canada for introducing new demands and failing to honor previous commitments, while Ottawa says the latest US proposals were unacceptable.
The dispute now threatens to further disrupt the deeply integrated North American supply chain and raises fresh uncertainty over the future of the USMCA trade framework.
