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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump took executive action on July 20 to impose a new 50% tariff on a wide range of imports from Canada in retaliation for what his administration called "discriminatory" Canadian trade practices in certain industries against the United States, according to administration officials.
The move, which risks further escalating a trade war between Canada and the United States, comes after Trump threatened tariffs against the country in response to smoke that entered the United States from raging wildfires in Canada. An administration official said Trump is exploring other unspecified tariff options for the wildfire response, however.
The sweeping tariffs, which go into effect Aug. 19, apply to a range of Canadian imports ‒ from wine and dairy to hockey sticks and cement, an official said ‒ but do not extend to energy, potash, fish and critical minerals, among other exemptions. All other Canadian exports, including those singled out as tariff-free in the United States-Canada-Mexico agreement signed in 2019, are subject to the tariff.
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Trump administration officials, who discussed the move on the condition of anonymity with reporters, cited Canadian trade practices on alcoholic beverages, automobiles and dairy products exported from the United States for prompting the action, which the officials characterized as "defensive measures."
In the past year, all but two Canadian provinces have halted the purchase of alcohol from the United States but not from other countries. Canada has imposed tariffs on automobiles from the United States but not other countries. And Canada has established tariff-rate quotas on cheese from the United States that are more restrictive than the Canadian policy with the European Union, officials said.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney defended his country's trade actions in a statement on Trump's latest tariffs, arguing that Canada has "merely matched" the tariffs and trade policies imposed by the United States.
"Canada believes in the benefits of free and fair trade," Carney said, pointing to more than trade agreements Canada has reached with other nations besides the United States. "This trade dispute has raised costs for families, particularly in the U.S. Canada stands ready to engage intensively to address outstanding issues with the U.S. to the mutual benefit of our citizens."
Trump invokes different law to get around SCOTUS ruling
Trump signed three proclamations formalizing the tariffs, which were made by invoking Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, often referred to as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. The century-old law is a different statute than the law Trump previously cited ‒ the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 ‒ in his push to use presidential emergency powers to impose reciprocal tariffs on countries.
The Supreme Court in February blocked Trump's use of emergency powers to impose tariffs under the 1977 law, forcing the White House to pursue other legal avenues to unilaterally levy fees on imports.
For more than a year, the United States and Canada have targeted exports from the other in a deepening trade war. Trump imposed 25% tariffs on imported automobiles from Canada, prompting Canada to hit the United States with auto tariffs of the same amount.
Trump also imposed 50% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports and 10% tariffs on all lumber imports, both of which affect goods from Canada.
"While the administration continues to secure fair and reciprocal trade deals with our trading partners, Canada, unlike other partners and allies, continues to retaliate against the United States for its efforts to rebalance trade and protect U.S. industry in national-security sensitive sectors," Jamieson Greer, Trump's U.S. trade representative, said in a statement.
Trump, Carney crossed paths at World Cup final
Trump's latest tariff announcement came one day after Trump and Carney interacted with each other in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the two leaders attended the World Cup final match between Spain and Argentina.
Ahead of their encounter, Trump lashed out at Canada in a post on Truth Social for the "filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air" that drifted over the United States from Canada's wildfires. Trump said the cost of dealing with the pollution "must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying."
Trump told reporters after the World Cup that he spoke to Carney about the wildfires during the match. "I told him, 'You've got to stop these fires from coming in and poisoning our air.' Our air's been poisoned. I have a good relationship with Mark Carney, but we got to stop the fires up there."
Trump added, "Maybe they should pay us some damages or something, or we should do some tariffs."
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump imposes new 50% tariff on many imports from Canada
