Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed that his country would match US tariffs "dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses" after hefty duties on some Canadian products took effect on Saturday. The tariffs were imposed following days of negotiations that officials said failed to produce an agreement.
New 50-percent duties on approximately $20 billion of Canadian exports to the United States came into force on Saturday. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters on Friday that Canada had declined to finalize the trade deal under terms agreed earlier in the week, despite Washington's offers for tariff reductions on steel, aluminum, autos and lumber.
Carney said in a statement that "last-minute changes in the US proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal." Canada's top negotiator Dominic LeBlanc said after Friday talks that officials still "have more work to do." Greer said Canada was maintaining "prolonged retaliation" against the United States.
The White House had alleged "discriminatory treatment" by Canada against US alcohol, automobile and dairy products in introducing the duties. The tariffs were originally set to take effect on Wednesday before Trump issued a three-day delay, citing major progress in talks.
Beyond the ongoing dispute, the United States and Canada still need to agree on revisions to the North American free trade agreement, USMCA, which Trump declined to renew last month. Carney has said the country must diversify and reduce its reliance on the United States, which currently accounts for roughly 70 percent of Canadian exports.
