Canada to announce response to Trump’s new tariffs
After rejecting what he called a “bad deal”, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced retaliatory tariffs effective on Sep 8.
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about Canada’s response to new US tariffs during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Aug 22, 2026. (File photo: AP/The Canadian Press/Patrick Doyle)
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
WASHINGTON: Canada said it will announce on Tuesday (Aug 25) its response to President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, as neighbours that used to be close allies spiral into a trade war.
In response to what it called “these challenging times”, the Canadian government said on Monday night that the ministers of finance, industry, labour and other officials would hold a press conference in Ottawa to detail Canada’s answer to the new levies.
Canada and the United States failed on Friday to reach a deal to avert new 50 per cent US tariffs on select Canadian goods after weeks of talks. The duties took effect on Saturday, and Ottawa laid out plans for retaliation.
Trump added Monday that he would double tariffs on Canadian autos starting next year to 50 per cent.
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
The current US tariff impacting Canadian autos stands at 25 per cent for non-US content, while imported steel to the United States generally faces a 50 per cent duty. US automakers did not immediately comment on the matter.
After rejecting what he called a “bad deal”, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced retaliatory tariffs effective on Sep 8.
He said these will target US steel and dairy industries, while also covering sectors like agricultural equipment, paper and electronics.
The government statement released late Monday said ministers will “announce new measures to protect and support Canadian workers and businesses during these challenging times”.
Carney said on Monday that the goal of trade talks with Washington “has always been to get the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any time frame”.
“We learned that, during the negotiations, the Americans wanted to destroy our major industries – including the automotive, steel, and aluminium sectors – through unfair negotiating terms. And that is one of the main reasons why we said no.”
He stressed that building domestically and diversifying trade abroad has been “plan A from the start”.
Over the weekend, Carney added that, at the 11th hour, US negotiators also sought restrictions on Canadian trade deals with other countries.
US negotiators made unacceptable “threats” to the French language and “Quebec culture” too, he said, referring to eastern Canada’s French-speaking province.
At a separate event Monday, however, US Vice President JD Vance blamed Canada’s “unreasonable last-minute demands”.
The United States is by far Canada’s biggest trading partner, with Canadian exports to its neighbour representing 70 per cent of its overall total.
Canada is the United States’ second biggest trading partner in goods this year, behind Mexico, government data showed.
“WE DON’T NEED CANADA”
Three in four Canadians support the Carney government’s decision to walk away from trade talks, according to polling released on Sunday by the Angus Reid Institute.
However, the research group noted that two in five Canadians have some fear about their jobs.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticised Trump’s tariff threat on autos, saying he could “kiss my ass”.
Ford warned that an electricity surcharge was on the table. In an earlier phase of the dispute, Ontario imposed a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to three US states.
Trump lashed out at Ford online, warning of “far worse” consequences.
The White House had alleged “discriminatory treatment” by Canada against US alcohol, automobile and dairy products in rolling out the 50 per cent tariffs.
Trump delayed their implementation by three days last week, but both sides failed to reach an agreement after talks went down to the wire.
The latest duties hit about 5.5 per cent of Canadian goods entering the US, worth around US$20 billion, impacting products like hockey sticks and cement.
Trump charged Monday that “Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years”, adding “we don’t need Canada, they need us”.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told The New York Times on Saturday that the Trump administration offered to eliminate a 10 per cent tariff on softwood lumber, and reduce the 25 per cent autos tariff.
Washington was also ready to cut steel tariffs from 50 per cent to 25 per cent for most Canadian steel, said Greer.
Besides the tariffs fight, Washington and Ottawa have to agree on revisions to the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement (USMCA), which Trump has declined to renew in its current form.
Trump has also repeatedly antagonised Canadians with his threats to make Canada a US state and calling Carney and his predecessor Justin Trudeau “governor” – as if they were US politicians, not prime ministers of another country.
Source: AFP/rk
Sign up for our newsletters
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
About The Author
