US-Canada Trade War Escalates as Tariffs Take Effect
A trade war between the US and Canada escalated as Canadian dollar-for-dollar tariffs on American goods took effect, mirroring President Donald Trump's own taxes on Canadian imports. The move comes after Trump continued to antagonize his northern neighbor over the holiday weekend with a series of provocative statements.
Among the 629 categories of products targeted by Canada are key outputs from US states with hotly contested midterm elections, including Maine's paper and lumber industry, Michigan's vehicle manufacturing, and Wisconsin dairy production. The tariffs represent roughly 5% of the two countries' massive trading partnership, which totaled $879.9 billion in goods last year.
US Sen. Susan Collins warned that her state would be impacted by over $170 million worth of Canadian tariffs, with more than half coming from the forest product sector. Canada revised its tariff proposal to exclude seafood, including Maine's significant lobster industry.