SerpApi.Org
Donald Trump's administration announced on Monday, July 20 additional tariffs of 50% on a wide range of Canadian exports. Washington justifies the measure by pointing to the trade retaliation adopted by Ottawa.
The new tariffs, set to take effect on August 19, would hit several products until now covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
"Defensive measures"
American officials insisted this was not a trade war but a set of "defensive measures." As one put it, "These are defensive measures by the United States taken to remedy discriminatory actions by Canada." They faulted Canada for being one of only two countries, alongside China, to have retaliated against U.S. tariffs. Three irritants were cited: the removal of American alcohol from shelves in several provinces, the duties and quotas on imported American vehicles, and protectionism in the dairy sector.
"When a country like Canada puts in place measures that are not reciprocal or that are discriminatory, the president [Trump] is prepared to act," said an official quoted by Radio-Canada.
The targeted products
According to La Presse, the surtax hits nearly 28 billion dollars in imports, or roughly 5% of Canadian exports to the United States and 0.8% of the country's GDP. Wine, spirits, plywood, honey, essential oils, cement, dairy products and hockey sticks are among the hundreds of products targeted.
Energy, potash, critical minerals and fish are excluded, Radio-Canada notes, recalling that CUSMA currently protects roughly 85% of Canadian exports.
To get around the Supreme Court's invalidation of part of its tariffs in February, the Trump administration this time invokes Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.
This provision allows taxing imports from a country deemed discriminatory toward American commerce. According to a Congressional Research Service report, it had never been used until now, though it had already served as a negotiating lever.
Carney ready to weigh "all options"
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would assess its response if the tariffs took effect. "We will look at all options in terms of how we would respond if [the new tariffs] do come into effect," he said. He said he had agreed with Donald Trump, during a call on Tuesday, to intensify negotiations on CUSMA over the next two weeks, while pressing for a comprehensive deal rather than a partial one.
In the Oval Office, the U.S. president claimed that without the United States "there's no way they can survive."
The provincial premiers, gathered in Charlottetown, hold varied positions. Doug Ford vowed to strike back "dollar for dollar," while David Eby ruled out any return of American alcohol to shelves in British Columbia.
Carney left that decision to the provinces, arguing that any reversal should come only as part of a comprehensive agreement.
Criticism in Ottawa and Washington
In Ottawa, the opposition slammed Carney's strategy: the Bloc Québécois sees in it "the failure of the government's strategy of appeasement," while the Conservatives judge that the Liberals lack urgency, Radio-Canada reports.
In the United States, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff criticized the approach, arguing it endangers American industries such as California's wine producers.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also stated on CNBC that new tariffs targeting some 60 economies, including the European Union, would be announced "soon." These surtaxes, tied to investigations into forced labor, would take over from the temporary 10% tariffs put in place earlier this year.
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