Canada trade talks with the United States have taken a sharper turn after Washington announced a new round of tariffs on a range of Canadian goods. The move came just one day after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump were seen together in New Jersey at the World Cup final, where they watched the event after a tournament that had drawn criticism over ticket prices and travel costs but was still broadly viewed as a success.
The new U.S. levy is set at 50% and applies to items including hockey sticks, candles and synthetic wigs. According to the source material, the White House said the action was a response to what it called unequal treatment of U.S. cars, dairy and alcohol by Canada. The tariffs are due to take effect on 19 August, and they arrive as talks on renewing the North American trade deal with Mexico, known as USMCA, appear to be moving again after a stop-start stretch.
The latest tariff threat adds to an already heavy stack of trade barriers. The United States is already applying sector-specific tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on Canadian steel, aluminium and copper. It also has a 35% tariff on Canadian softwood lumber and a 25% tax on non-U.S. parts in cars. Canada has answered with its own 25% counter-tariff on selected imports of American steel, aluminium and vehicles, and most provinces removed U.S. alcohol from store shelves last year.
