Mark Carney says Canada will impose tariffs starting September 8 on imports of US steel, electronics and other products.
Carney says Canada won't compromise sovereignty in tariff standoff
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced retaliatory tariffs on the United States after Washington imposed a 50 percent levy on $20bn worth of Canadian goods.
Carney, speaking in Ottawa on Saturday, said the new Canadian tariffs would target US steel, dairy and electronics industries among others and take effect on September 8.
“Canada will match Washington’s new tariffs dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses,” Carney told reporters.
The announcement came after days of intense negotiations broke down late on Friday, worsening a delicate relationship between the longtime trade partners and allies.
US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs hit sectors including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment, and cover some $20bn worth of goods, or 5.5 percent of Canadian exports to the US.
Carney said Trump set conditions that were ultimately unacceptable even though earlier talks had been positive.
“In recent days, the United States proposed new terms that were uneconomic, unfair and undermined the net benefits for Canada, and called into question the reliability of any deal,” Carney said, adding these demands included curtailing Canada’s ability to forge new trade deals.
“We cannot accept what they’ve offered, and we will not give what they’ve asked.”
He added that US negotiators also made unacceptable “threats” to the French language and “Quebec culture”, referring to the French-speaking province in eastern Canada.
Carney is one of the few global leaders to retaliate against US tariffs and has pledged to forge new trade and military alliances, despite Canada’s dependence on the US for nearly 70 percent of its exports.
Canada will impose tariffs on US steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics, along with some products the US previously targeted in Canada, Carney said from Ottawa’s Parliament building. The government will release details on its response in the coming days, he said.
Carney said Canada would announce support measures next week for industries hit by the new US duties, adding these measures could last years.
There was no immediate comment from the White House.
