Canada’s retaliatory US tariffs set to take effect as trade dispute grows

Canada is set to impose retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of American imports early on Tuesday, escalating a trade fight with its largest trading partner as tensions between US president Donald Trump and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney intensify.

The tariffs, which take effect at 12.01am on Tuesday, will range from 15% to 50% and apply to products covering C$27.6bn in imports from the US. The measures will target sectors including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics – industries that have been most affected by US tariffs.

The retaliatory tariffs come “as a result of the United States’ decision to impose a 50% tariff on $27.6bn of Canadian goods effective August 22”, the Canadian government said.

“Canada’s counter-measures do not apply to US goods that are in transit to Canada on the day on which they come into force,” it added.

Tensions between Canada and the US have intensified in recent weeks, with Carney last week urging the Trump administration to “start being serious” as the trade dispute has increasingly spilled into broader diplomatic tensions.

Trump and senior US officials have repeatedly criticized Canada and its leadership, while Trump has taken a series of symbolic digs at Canada including signing an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” – which Canadians have rejected.

US vice-president JD Vance has also reportedly mocked Carney, apparently saying the Canadian prime minister “comes in and puffs his chest out and says: ‘I’m going to, like, out-tough Donald Trump.’”

Last month, Trump announced a new 50% tariff on cars and raw materials from Canada. He accused the country of “ripping off” the US “for years”, adding: “We don’t need Canada, they need us!”

Carney said last month Canada would not accept a US trade deal that weakened French-language protections, saying American negotiators viewed the measures as an “irritant”, while “in Quebec, these are rights”.

Quebec has long maintained laws aimed at protecting French and preserving its distinct cultural identity. Those measures have become a sticking point in the trade talks between the two countries, with American negotiators raising concerns about rules they say can disadvantage US businesses.