United States President Donald Trump has signed executive orders slapping 50 per cent tariffs on a wide array of Canadian imports, claiming Ottawa enforces trade rules that unfairly penalise American goods.
According to a White House fact sheet released on Monday, the tariffs will kick in within 30 days and target numerous Canadian exports including wine, hockey sticks and cement.
The White House blamed the move on what it described as Canada's unfair treatment of American alcohol, automobile and dairy products. Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a rarely used legal tool that allows the US government to impose trade penalties on countries engaged in discriminatory practices against American commerce.
The tariffs will exclude energy products, potash and goods already covered by sector-specific tariffs. However, products traded under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, known as USMCA, will now face the new duties.
This marks a sharp shift from earlier tariff actions. Since returning to office last year, Trump has rolled out sweeping tariffs on multiple American trading partners, but USMCA goods had largely dodged those measures.
The latest move will likely intensify trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa. It follows Trump's recent threat to raise tariffs on Canadian goods over wildfire smoke that drifted into parts of the United States, accusing Canada of mismanaging its forests.
