President Trump on Monday signed orders that would impose a 50 percent tariff on a wide range of Canadian goods, claiming that Canada had discriminated against the United States in key markets.
U.S. officials said the tariffs would be imposed on products ranging from wine to hockey sticks to cement and would go into effect in 30 days. The officials said the tariffs were punishment for Canadian discrimination in three industries: motor vehicles, dairy and alcohol.
The tariffs appear likely to reignite a trade clash with Canada, one of America’s closest allies and its second-largest trading partner after Mexico. Canada has been in Mr. Trump’s cross hairs since its government retaliated against tariffs that the president imposed on a wide range of products last year.
Trump officials have repeatedly complained that Canadian provinces have halted purchases of U.S. alcohol, and said Canada was one of only two nations, along with China, to hit back against Mr. Trump’s tariffs with its own levies.
The tariffs will not apply to energy products, potash, certain fish and minerals, or products that are already subject to national security tariffs, like steel and auto parts. Yet unlike previous rounds of U.S. tariffs, there would be no exemptions for Canadian goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the free-trade deal that Mr. Trump negotiated and signed into law during his first term, a senior administration official said.
The United States is currently pressing for changes to that agreement, called the U.S.M.C.A., which Mr. Trump signed in 2018. U.S. officials will travel to Mexico this week for talks, but the United States and Canada have not begun officially negotiating over the agreement.
The new tariffs will be imposed under an obscure legal provision, Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which allows the government to put tariffs on imports from countries that discriminate against U.S. commerce as compared to other countries.
The official said they had spoken with Canadian officials about the measure and were briefing members of Congress on it. The United States remains open to discussions with Canadian counterparts, the official said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
