WASHINGTON — President Trump slapped a mammoth 50% tariff on certain Canadian goods — a move meant to combat what the administration described as the country’s “continuous discrimination” on American products.
The new tax will apply to a range of imports, including wine, hockey sticks, and cement and goes into effect in 30 days, but the administration indicated in a Monday briefing call that it was open for negotiations on the matter.
“Canada has retained substantial retaliation against the United States,” a senior administration official told reporters on a Monday briefing call.
“These are defensive measures by the United States taken to remedy discriminatory actions by Canada,” the official said, vowing the administration would hold America’s northern neighbor “accountable.”
There will be exemptions for energy and essential goods like fish and critical minerals.
“This is not a trade war with Canada,” the official insisted, adding the president was trying to right the trade imbalance between the two nations.
The new tax will come as a shock to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — Trump didn’t mention the forthcoming tariffs when the two men chatted during Sunday’s World Cup final.
“Although the president and the prime minister met and they had a one-on-one, it was not a visit to talk about trade and tariffs from our perspective,” the official said.
There may be more tariffs to come, the Trump administration warned.
Trump has vowed to hold Canada accountable for the wildfire smoke that polluted air across the northeast and down the eastern coast for several days last week.
“Maybe they should pay us some damages or something, or we should do some tariffs,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.
The president is still examining his options there.
“These are not the so-called wildfire tariffs. The president has asked for options on that, and options are being shared with him,” the official said.
The US goods trade deficit with Canada was $46.4 billion in 2025, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.
Trump has long seen Canada as a bete noir and publicly mussed about making it America’s 51st state. He had an antagonistic relationship with former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
He and Carney have a cordial but tense relationship even though they had a friendly conversation at Sunday’s soccer match.
“We have reached agreement with many of our trading partners,” the official noted. “We, of course, hope to be able to do the same with Canada and other trading partners, but at the same time, we will not tolerate discrimination against US goods.”
The two nations have been involved in a year-long trade tit-for-tat.
Trump has hit Canada with a variety of tariffs and Ottawa has responded with tariffs of its own in a repeated back-and-forth trade scuffle.
Currently, US tariffs on Canadian goods include a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum, a 35% tariff on softwood lumber, a 10% tariff on certain energy products, a 12.5% tariff related to forced labor prohibitions, and a 25% tariff on cars not built in the US.
In response to those tariffs, Canada imposed a 25% tariff on fully assembled motor vehicles imported from the United States and on alcohol products. On dairy, Canada only imposes a tariff when American imports pass a certain threshold.
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