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President Donald Trump moved to impose new 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian goods.
For the first year of his administration, Trump repeatedly leveraged tariff threats in negotiations with other countries. He previously cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, but the Supreme Court overturned those in February. The executive order signed July 20 invokes a different law, Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.
Canada is one of the United States' top trade partners, but officials there have responded to other tariff orders, like a 25% duty on automobiles, with their own retaliatory tariffs.
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Trump's latest move could further reignite a trade war, so why did he do it? Here is what we know:
Why is Trump putting tariffs on Canada?
The White House said on July 20 the new tariffs are going into effect due to what the Trump administration called "discriminatory" Canadian trade practices.
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."
What do the Canadian wildfires have to do with it?
While Trump previously suggested tariffs as compensation for Canadian wildfire smoke impacting the U.S., he said July 21 that was not the motivation behind the most recent tariff order.
"We're looking at that separately," he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Toxic smoke from Canadian wildfires infiltrated large swaths of the U.S. for several days leading up to the World Cup Final Game, where Trump and Carney shared a suite.
"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."
USA TODAY previously reported that an administration official said Trump is exploring other, unspecified tariff options for the wildfire response. As of July 21, Canadian officials reported nearly 900 active fires with the majority being monitored but out of control.
What items will be tariffed?
The sweeping tariffs apply to a range of Canadian imports ‒ from wine and dairy to hockey sticks to cement, an official said. The full list of impacted tariff codes is available from the White House.
Products that are exempt from the new tariffs include energy, potash, fish and critical minerals, among others.
When do the new tariffs go into effect?
The tariffs are scheduled to go into effect on Aug. 19, 2026.
Since he returned to power, Trump has repeatedly announced imminent tariffs to go into effect, only to delay, reduce or cancel them altogether. The vacillation has prompted a critique thrown around when Trump changes his mind. The term "TACO trade" was coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong in May 2025, describing how some investors anticipate market rebounds amid Trump's on-again, off-again tariff policies. The acronym stands for "Trump always chickens out."
(This story was updated with Trump's July 21 comment on the recent tariff orders.)
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why is Trump putting tariffs on Canada? It isn't due to wildfires yet
