Canada has hit back at the United States, announcing retaliatory tariffs of up to 50 percent on $20 billion worth of American goods, most notably aluminum, steel, and fish. Trump announced 50 percent tariffs on Canada last month, and threatened to levy even more this week.
Canada’s tariffs will affect a wide variety of U.S. goods beginning September 8, including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended trade talks with Trump last Friday after the U.S. demanded last-minute concessions regarding Quebec law requiring the U.S. to print manuals and packaging in French—a seemingly minute detail to make a dealbreaker. This of course led Canada to exit talks, as they took it as an attack on their culture and sovereignty.
Now U.S. consumers will pay for the perceived slight.
“Canada must respond, and today we are—in a proportionate, targeted, and strategic way. Today, I am announcing that Canada will match the United States tariffs dollar for dollar, rate for rate. Effective September 8, Canada will impose counter tariffs of up to 15, 25, or 50 percent on $27.6 billion in imports from the United States of America,” Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said on Tuesday. “For each product, our tariff would match the American tariff on the same type of Canadian goods. Those tariffs will have real consequences for Canadian workers, businesses, and communities across our nation. Canada must respond, and today we are in a proportionate, targeted, and strategic way.”
Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne: "Canada will match the US tariffs dollar for dollar, rate for rate. Effective Sept 8, Canada will impose counter-tariffs of up to 15, 25, or 50 percent on $27.6 billion of imports from the US." pic.twitter.com/RQuxm9Td7j
These tariffs from Canada will inevitably make it more difficult for U.S. companies that do business with Canada to compete in the near future—and cause prices on those aforementioned key goods to rise. And more than anything, Trump’s chaotic, greedy vindictiveness has cost us a good relationship with perhaps our closest ally in the world.
According to reports, CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly flew to Moscow on Tuesday. The purpose of Ratcliffe’s Russia trip is unclear, though inside sources that spoke with CBS News said that he is attending meetings. His visit marks the first time since 2021—months before Russia invaded Ukraine—that a director of the CIA has visited the country.
News of Ratcliffe’s involvement came in the wake of intense speculation surrounding a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport plane that was spotted flying from Riga, Latvia, to Vnukovo Airport just outside Moscow.
An observer who flew out of Riga Airport Tuesday morning described seeing an aircraft similar in shape, color, and size to a U.S. Air Force C-40B—which are typically used to transport senior U.S. government officials and senior military commanders—alongside the C-17, as well as several cars with diplomatic plates.
Air traffic trackers recorded the C-40’s flight path originating at Joint Base Andrews and landing in Riga.
Moscow residents shared video of the envoy’s arrival, which involved multiple SUVs with tinted windows breezing through city traffic with a heavy police escort.
Neither the U.S. nor Russia has commented on the trip or offered any insight into who is participating in the meetings. Rather, the Kremlin announced Tuesday that no talks between Moscow and U.S. envoys were expected this week.
“No, there are no such plans,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference when asked whether more talks had been scheduled to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump administration officials reportedly asked Kyiv not to strike Moscow, St. Petersburg, or the northern regions of Russia between Monday and Wednesday, to which Ukraine agreed, according to the Financial Times.
