Canada to match US 50% tariffs after talks collapse
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Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has confirmed that trade talks with the US collapsed at Friday's midnight deadline, with Canada now recalling its negotiators and pledging to match Washington's new 50% tariffs "dollar for dollar". Each side blames the other: Carney says last-minute US changes to a proposed deal on steel, aluminium and cars were "unfair, uneconomic" and undermined trust, while US trade representative Jamieson Greer accuses Canada of introducing new demands and walking back earlier commitments, calling it a "missed opportunity". No further talks are scheduled, and the breakdown deepens the worst rift in years between the two allies, also casting doubt on the future of the North American trade pact linking the US, Canada and Mexico.
The tariffs will hit around $20bn (£16bn) of Canadian goods, roughly 5% of Canada's annual exports to the US, ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors, with Canada having sought unsuccessful concessions on steel, aluminium, vehicles and lumber. Beyond the economic impact, the two countries traded $880bn in goods and services last year, and the political fallout is expected to be significant: Carney has said "America has changed" and that relations will not return to normal, while public anger over Donald Trump's talk of Canada becoming the "51st state" has fuelled a petition, signed by about 248,000 people, calling for the expulsion of US ambassador Pete Hoekstra.
- Canada-US trade talks collapsed at Friday's midnight deadline; no further talks planned.
- Canada will match US 50% tariffs "dollar for dollar" on roughly $20bn of goods.
- Breakdown fuels political anger in Canada, including a 248,000-signature petition against the US ambassador.
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Canada and the United States have long shared one of the world's largest trading relationships, with goods worth around $880bn crossing the border each year and industries on both sides deeply intertwined, particularly in steel, aluminium and car manufacturing. That relationship has been under strain since Donald Trump returned to the White House and began imposing tariffs on imports, including from close allies, as part of his broader trade policy. Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, has been trying to negotiate exemptions or a new arrangement with Washington to protect Canadian industries from these levies.
Tensions between the two countries have been building for some time, fuelled partly by Trump's repeated remarks suggesting Canada should become the 51st US state, comments many Canadians have found provocative. Trade talks between the two governments had been under way to try to resolve disagreements over tariffs on goods such as steel, aluminium, cars and lumber, with a deadline set for progress to be made.
The talks matter because their outcome affects the price and availability of goods, jobs in export-reliant industries, and the wider diplomatic relationship between two countries that have traditionally been close allies. A breakdown in negotiations also raises questions about the future of the broader trade pact linking the US, Canada and Mexico, which underpins much of North American commerce.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of Washington's approach argue that decades of trade imbalances and hollowed-out manufacturing justify a tougher line, and that steel, aluminium and car production carry genuine strategic and national security weight worth protecting through tariffs. They contend that Canada's last-minute demands showed a lack of serious commitment to a deal, and that only firm, high-stakes pressure moves entrenched trading partners toward genuinely fairer terms rather than the status quo. From this view, short-term disruption is an acceptable cost for correcting a longstanding imbalance and defending American workers and industries.
The case against
Supporters of Canada's response argue that matching tariffs dollar for dollar is a proportionate and necessary defence of its economy, workers and sovereignty against a partner who altered terms unilaterally at the eleventh hour. They see the collapse of talks, coming alongside repeated suggestions that Canada become the 51st state, as evidence that quiet accommodation has not earned good faith and that a close ally is being treated unfairly despite an $880bn relationship built on mutual benefit. From this perspective, standing firm signals that Canada will not simply absorb one-sided pressure, and preserves its leverage and dignity in future negotiations.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Canada vows to match Trump’s tariffs ‘dollar for dollar’ after trade talks fail”.