Canada announces counter-tariffs on $27.6 billion in US goods
Ottawa is matching Washington's 50% tariff rate dollar for dollar on more than 700 American products, with duties taking effect Sept. 8
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Canada announced counter-tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of American goods on Tuesday, matching a 50% U.S. tariff on Canadian exports that took effect last weekend after trade negotiations collapsed.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the counter-tariffs will apply at rates of 15%, 25%, and 50%, with each product's rate matching the corresponding U.S. rate. The government said the duties will cover steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics when they kick in on Sept. 8.
Steel and aluminum products, furniture, and clothing and apparel are among the categories subject to the top 50% rate. A 25% rate will apply to appliances, dairy items including cheese, fish and seafood, and selected steel and aluminum derivative products. Existing Canadian counter-tariffs on U.S. autos remain in place.
Canada suspended trade talks with the United States after saying Washington proposed terms it deemed unacceptable. "When the United States asked too much and offered too little, we chose to stand up for Canadians," Minister Champagne said in a statement.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer pushed back on that characterization, arguing that Washington had made meaningful concessions on steel, aluminum, autos, and softwood lumber duties. "They simply wanted more," Greer told CNBC, according to NBC News.
Alongside the counter-tariffs, Ottawa announced a $7.5 billion support package for workers and businesses affected by U.S. duties. The package includes $1.5 billion through regional development agencies for small and medium-sized enterprises, a $500 million liquidity stream through the Business Development Bank of Canada, and $2 billion through a new Canada Strong Diversification Fund for capital maintenance projects. A further $3.5 billion in rapid-response supports will fund employment insurance flexibilities, workplace training, and a new Worker Retention and Retraining Program for employers.
The announcement follows a week of sharply deteriorating relations between Ottawa and Washington. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended trade negotiations late Friday after saying U.S. negotiators introduced last-minute terms that were "unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal." The 50% U.S. tariffs, imposed under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 — a provision unused since 1949 — took effect Saturday on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods, covering items including wine, furniture, dairy, and clothing.
President Donald Trump subsequently threatened to raise tariffs on Canadian autos, trucks, and steel to 50% on Jan. 1, 2027, and said Tuesday he is considering renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America."