Trump’s Tariff Tussle with Canada Escalates to New Heights
President Donald Trump's trade war with Canada has been a long and tumultuous process. It began in January of 2025, when Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada, citing national emergency over undocumented immigration and drug trafficking.
The tariffs were eventually pushed back, but not before Canada imposed retaliatory levies worth $29.8 billion Canadian dollars ($20.7 billion) on U.S. imports.
Throughout the year, Trump continued to impose new tariffs and threaten even steeper ones, including a 50% levy on Canadian goods that was eventually implemented in August of 2025.
The impact of these tariffs has been significant, with trade tensions bubbling up again in the second half of the year. In July, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to match the new import taxes 'dollar for dollar' with retaliatory levies taking effect September 8.