Trump hits back at Canada after retaliatory tariffs announcement

Trump hits back at Canada after retaliatory tariffs announcement. AFP Published August 23, 2026 Updated August 23, 2026 11: 48am.

Key points

• US President Donald Trump hit back at Canada on Sunday after Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed retaliatory tariffs on the United States after a breakdown in trade negotiations.
• New 50 per cent US tariffs impacting regarding $20 billion worth of goods, or 5.5pc of Canadian exports to the US, came into force on Saturday.
• Carney remarked on Saturday that new Canadian tariffs would take effect on September 8, notably targeting the US steel and dairy industries.
• Greer informed Fox News on Saturday that Washington was "moving forward with measures that respond to Canadian retaliation." He stated no new discussions were planned with Canadian negotiators.
• "Canada wants the benefits of being a state, without being one!" Trump remarked in a post on Truth Social.

"They have additionally charged our great farmers, for numerous years, massive amounts of tariffs. No more!" he remarked.

New 50 per cent US tariffs impacting regarding $20 billion worth of goods, or 5.5pc of Canadian exports to the US, came into force on Saturday. Impacted products range from hockey sticks to cement.

"You're at war when you obtain attacked. We obtained attacked, " Carney stated a day earlier.

New Canadian tariffs will notably target the US steel and dairy industries and take effect on September 8. More details would come next week, Carney remarked.

Trump had previously remarked Washington "should be able to have a deal with Canada, " citing his "good relationship" with Carney.

But on Saturday, Canada's prime minister remarked Trump set conditions that were ultimately unacceptable even though earlier negotiations had been positive.

"In recent days, the United States proposed new terms that were uneconomic, unfair and undermined the net benefits for Canada, and called into question the reliability of any deal, " Carney remarked in Ottawa.

"We cannot accept what they've offered, and we will not give what they've asked."

As well as eliminate a lately imposed tariff on Canadian lumber, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer informed the New York Times on Saturday that the US had offered to reduce its tariffs on steel, aluminium and autos.

Greer remarked those measures would have given Canada "the most preferential treatment of any trading partner, " according to the Times.

Meanwhile, a senior US official characterised this week's discussions in Washington as candid and not acrimonious.

Taken together, the developments around trump hits back at Canada after retaliatory tariffs announcement point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.