The United States will impose new tariffs on Canadian imports after trade negotiations between the two countries ended late Friday without a deal, according to a U.S. official. In response, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that his government was suspending negotiations and would implement retaliatory measures.
The new U.S. tariffs were scheduled to take effect just after midnight on Saturday, Aug. 22. A senior U.S. administration official stated that 50% tariffs under Section 338 would be applied to approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian goods.
The decision followed three days of talks in Washington D.C. between U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Canada’s minister for trade with the U.S., Dominic LeBlanc.
In a statement, Prime Minister Carney announced the end of the current round of talks and outlined his government’s next steps.
“I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the U.S. and have directed Canada’s negotiators to return to Ottawa,” Carney said. He added that Canadian negotiators “have worked hard, in good faith, to defend the interests of Canadians throughout these negotiations up until the very last minute.”
Carney attributed the breakdown in talks to new proposals from the United States. He said that “last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.” The Prime Minister also confirmed that Canada would retaliate “dollar for dollar” against the new U.S. tariffs.
These measures are in addition to existing U.S. tariffs on other Canadian exports, including steel, lumber, and automobiles. The U.S. official confirmed the new tariffs will apply to the specified goods regardless of whether they would otherwise qualify for preferential treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
