Canada’s Trade War with Trump is Getting Personal

Canada has officially imposed retaliatory tariffs on nearly $20 billion of U.S. imports, escalating a trade dispute between the longtime allies after talks between Ottawa and Washington broke down.

The tariffs, ranging from 15% to 50%, took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time (0401 GMT) on Tuesday and cover more than 700 products, including steel, household appliances, agricultural equipment and dairy products.

The measures match U.S. tariffs imposed on Canadian goods and mark the latest escalation in a dispute that has increasingly spilled beyond trade policy into relations between the two governments.

U.S. President Donald Trump responded with a series of presidential actions on Tuesday, including plans to ban imports of many Canadian dairy products, motorcycles and alcoholic beverages from Sept. 29.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney urged Canadians to withstand the economic impact of the measures and diversify trade.

“We have everything we need to pivot and prosper,” Carney said in a video shared on social media. “That pivot will come at a cost. There’s always a cost to action. But it doesn’t come close to the cost of standing still.”

Trump imposed 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods in July, citing “discriminatory treatment” of U.S. products. Canada and the United States opened talks in August in an effort to avert the measures, but failed to reach an agreement before an Aug. 22 deadline.

Carney has said Ottawa rejected a deal that would have disproportionately benefited the United States. Trump has accused Canada of taking advantage of the United States.

“Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social after Canada announced its retaliatory measures in August.

On Tuesday, Trump directed the U.S. General Services Administration, which provides services to the federal government, to coordinate with the U.S. Trade Representative’s office to cut ties with Canada.

He called for the U.S. government to “REMOVE Canadian-origin products from GSA’s Multiple Award Schedules unless Canada restores full and fair reciprocity for American Farmers and Companies”.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also criticized Carney on Tuesday, saying he “needs to stop campaigning and start governing” and that Washington was unsure why Canada had withdrawn from negotiations.

Canada has announced a C$7.3 billion ($5.42 billion) support package for small and medium-sized businesses and workers affected by the tariffs.

The trade dispute has also put pressure on Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, with Trump threatening on Monday to block the company’s aircraft sales in the United States unless it begins manufacturing them there. Bombardier employs thousands of workers in the United States.

Flavio Volpe, president of APMA Canada, a manufacturing trade group, said Bombardier uses U.S.-made GE and Honeywell jet engines.

The escalating dispute has raised concerns about the impact on the deeply integrated North American economy, where Canada, the United States and Mexico have extensive cross-border supply chains.

Canada is the largest buyer of U.S.-manufactured cars, raising concerns that its retaliatory tariffs could hurt U.S. automakers.

U.S. consumers could also face higher prices for hundreds of Canadian goods. A Kiel Institute for the World Economy report found that U.S. importers and consumers absorb 96% of the tariff burden.

“What we are worried about is an escalatory spiral,” Michael Harvey, executive director of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance and a member of Carney’s advisory committee on bilateral U.S. economic relations, told Reuters.

“But at the same time, we totally understand that the prime minister needs to find areas of leverage,” he added.

The dispute has increasingly taken on a personal tone. Trump posted an illustration on Sunday showing himself towering over Carney as the two played ice hockey, accompanied by the words “Get up, governor”, a reference to his repeated suggestion that Canada should become a U.S. state.

Trump also signed an order last month renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” for U.S. federal use.

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