A 50 per cent Canada duty, parcel tariffs and a 100 per cent unmanned-aircraft levy land together
Washington ties a 19 August 50 per cent Canada duty to ending retaliation, a court backs suspending the small-parcel exemption, and an unmanned-aircraft proclamation imposes 100 per cent duties.
Economics & Markets··Night
The 50 per cent Canada duty due on 19 August
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the 50 per cent tariff due on 19 August will go ahead unless Canada scraps the retaliatory measures it applies to American goods. Greer said the incoming duties are a response to Canadian retaliation. Washington objects to provincial bans on US liquor sales, the supply-managed dairy system and quotas on certain American vehicles. The tariffs cover a range of Canadian goods with no CUSMA exemption. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said talks are continuing and that he had met Greer four times in recent weeks. The date and condition are clear: without a lift of retaliation the 50 per cent line takes effect on 19 August, and talks alone do not open an exemption path. Denying an exemption on the neighbour trade line means the 50 per cent rate can hit a wide basket of Canadian goods and compresses the negotiating calendar before 19 August.[1]
A court backs ending the small-parcel exemption
The US Court of International Trade ruled on Thursday that the president may suspend the de minimis exemption, which let parcels worth $800 or less enter duty-free. The challenge argued that the authority was missing; the court found otherwise. The exemption was ended last year on the argument that low-value shipments were being used to avoid tariffs and to smuggle drugs. Small firms said they had less room than large platforms such as Shein and Temu to absorb the cost. In February the US Supreme Court found that the president had exceeded his authority with sweeping global tariffs, while sector-specific duties were left in place and new ones have since been built on other legal grounds. The ruling hardens the tax load on cross-border low-value trade and strengthens a tariff front separate from the Canada line. The $800 threshold covers much of the small-parcel flow; court backing locks in the return of duty on shipments under that line.[2]
A 100 per cent unmanned-aircraft duty and the share reaction
The proclamation Donald Trump signed puts a 100 per cent duty on unmanned aircraft above 25 kg or with thermal imaging, on their docking stations and on critical components, and 25 per cent on smaller aircraft and other parts. Products from the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan and Liechtenstein face 15 per cent, and United Kingdom products 10 per cent. Most duties take effect 21 days after signing, with less sensitive components delayed by 180 days. After the signing, Unusual Machines rose 22 per cent to $33.24, Red Cat Holdings 8 per cent to $11.02 and Ondas Holdings 4 per cent to $9.27. AeroVironment, which sells mainly to the Pentagon, added 1 per cent to $191.26 and Kratos Defense 2 per cent to $64.29; both lean less on imported parts. In the same week the 50 per cent Canada condition, the court-backed parcel line and the 100 per cent unmanned-aircraft duty widen the US tariff front across a neighbour, e-commerce and defence components. The share reaction prices protection for smaller domestic makers, while the 21-day and 180-day schedules split import planning into two stages.[3], [1], [2]
