The United States will impose, starting from August 19, a 50% customs duty on a wide range of Canadian products, in a new escalation of the trade conflict between Washington and Ottawa.
The Donald Trump administration claims that the measure is a response to the „discriminatory” treatment applied by Canada to American products, ranging from cars and alcohol to dairy products.
The announcement was made on Monday by the White House, and Al Jazeera reports that President Donald Trump signed three proclamations activating Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act, a provision rarely used, allowing tariffs of up to 50% on imports from certain states.
The new taxes will come into effect on August 19 and will apply even if the goods are covered by the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), with the exception of energy, fertilizers, fish, critical minerals, and products already targeted by tariffs imposed under Section 232.
From wine and furniture to hockey sticks
The list of affected products is extensive and includes wine, dairy products, cement, furniture, pools, clothing, seeds, fishing rods, wigs, and even hockey sticks.
According to the White House, the decision is based on several unfair trade practices. The Trump administration accuses Canada of excessively protecting the dairy market, applying tariffs and quotas for American cars, and in most provinces, suspending the sale of alcoholic beverages from the US in response to previous tariffs imposed by Washington.
"While the Administration continues to conclude fair and reciprocal trade agreements with our trading partners, Canada, unlike other partners and allies, continues to take retaliatory actions against the United States for their efforts to rebalance trade and protect the American industry in sectors sensitive from a national security perspective," said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
White House cites the decline in American imports
The White House claims that Canadian imports of cars manufactured in the US have decreased by 22% in the last year, and American alcoholic beverage imports have dropped by 81%.
The announcement comes just days after Donald Trump accused Canada of the smoke from forest fires crossing the border and affecting American states, threatening to include the costs of pollution control in the tariffs applied to Canadian goods.
So far, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's office has not commented on the new measures. The silence of the authorities in Ottawa contrasts with their public appearance on Sunday when Carney and Trump attended together the closing and award ceremony of the World Cup.