Trump Imposes 50% Tariffs on Canadian Goods, Escalating Trade War
President Donald Trump's trade war with Canada has been ongoing since his second term in office. In January 2025, he announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian imports, citing national emergency over undocumented immigration and drug trafficking.
The tariffs were later pushed back after a 30-day pause was agreed upon, but limited tariffs on certain goods kicked in March 4. Canada retaliated with tariffs worth $29.8 billion Canadian dollars ($20.7 billion) on U.S. imports.
Throughout the year, tensions continued to escalate as Trump imposed new tariffs on various goods, including a 50% tariff on nearly all foreign steel and aluminum in June 2025. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney responded with retaliatory measures, matching the 25% rate on non-USMCA compliant vehicles imported from the U.S.
In July 2025, Trump threatened to impose a 35% tariff rate on Canadian goods, which was later implemented on August 1. Carney said Canada would drop many of its retaliatory tariffs to match U.S. exemptions for goods covered under the USMCA pact.
The trade talks continued with ups and downs, but in November 2025, a 6-3 Supreme Court decision struck down Trump's import taxes, including country-specific levies imposed on Canada. The ruling did not bring an end to tensions between the two countries, as Trump threatened further tariffs and retaliatory measures were taken.
In March 2026, negotiations to renew the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) began, but the outlook remains cloudy. On August 22, Trump declared a deal with Canada to delay tariffs until at least that day, but last-minute negotiations failed and new tariffs kicked in just after midnight.