Washington doubles the car tariff, Ottawa answers on September 8
Trump threatened a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian cars as new US duties reached about 20 billion dollars of goods; Carney plans matching retaliation from September 8.
Geopolitics··Evening
The tariff on cars and parts is set to reach 50 per cent on January 1
Donald Trump threatened to raise the tariff on cars and car parts from Canada to 50 per cent on January 1. The announcement followed the collapse of three days of deal talks on Friday. Early on Saturday, the United States had imposed 50 per cent duties on about 20 billion dollars of Canadian goods. If the new car measure takes effect, it will double the current rate and bring the dispute more directly into the two countries' integrated vehicle-production network.[1]
The new list stretches from paper goods to dairy
The US list that took effect on Saturday covers parchment paper, cups, plates, the kraft paper used on the outer layer of cardboard boxes and about 36 kinds of plywood. Those broad product groups accounted for about 1.5 billion dollars of imports from Canada last year. Wine, beer and spirits represented another 1.5 billion dollars, while milk, cheese, butter and whey accounted for 780 million dollars. The collapse of the deal talks left these products inside the new tariff regime.[1]
Canada's matching duties begin on September 8
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would impose matching duties on US steel, electronics and other products from September 8. Ottawa's response will match US tariffs that reach about 20 billion dollars of Canadian exports. The new US regime covers wine, furniture, dairy, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment, and gives no exemption to goods traded under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which protected most Canadian exports over the past 18 months. Neither side has announced a date for further talks.[2]
