US hits Canadian goods with 50pc tariffs after trade talks fail

US hits Canadian goods with 50pc tariffs after trade discussions fail.

Key points

• "Tonight, Canada declined to finalise the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week, " US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer remarked during a White House briefing.
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• "This is a missed opportunity for Canada to partner with the United States, which is the fastest-growing economy in the G7, " Greer remarked.
• The decision by the US administration followed three days of ⁠discussions in Washington between Canada's minister for trade with the US, Dominic LeBlanc, and Greer.
• "I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the US and have directed Canada's negotiators to return to Ottawa, " Carney remarked in an official note.

US hits Canadian goods with 50pc tariffs after trade discussions fail. Reuters Published August 22, 2026 Updated August 22, 2026 11: 17am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

Notably, the United States imposed 50 per cent tariffs on some ‌Canadian goods on Saturday after the two longstanding allies failed to reach a trade accord, with each side accusing the other of derailing days of negotiations.

For context, the tariffs that came into effect just after midnight (0400 GMT) on some $20 billion of Canadian goods – things like wooden ice hockey sticks that are rarely applied anymore – are far from an economic game-changer for the largest US trading partner after Mexico. That represents just over 5pc of Canada's exports to the US.

But the new tariffs mark an growth in tensions between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney, ⁠and will probable create broader negotiations to renew the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement more tough.

Carney remarked he had suspended trade negotiations and Canada would retaliate "dollar for dollar" on the new tariffs.

"They (negotiators) have worked hard, in good faith, to defend the interests of Canadians throughout these negotiations up until the very last minute, " he remarked.

"However, last-minute changes in the US proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal."

Carney, the only person to ever run the central banks of two major economies, was elected last year on promises to stand up to Trump, and remains broadly popular. Polls show most Canadians oppose making any concessions to Trump.

Hours earlier, the two sides had seemed close to an agreement that sources remarked would have ‌lowered ⁠tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos and potentially brought American alcohol back to Canadian liquor stores.

For context, a senior Trump administration official remarked the US offer would have put Canada in the best tariff position of any ⁠major exporter to the US, but that Canada had sought further concessions, especially on steel, aluminum, autos and softwood lumber.

No extra negotiations are scheduled as the US implements the new duties, the official noted.

Trump last month threatened to impose a raft of duties on a range of Canadian imports including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, ⁠fishing rods, hockey equipment.

For context, the tariffs, which do not qualify for preferential treatment under the US-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement, open up some already vulnerable sectors to potential severe damage that could lead to job losses and business closures, trade experts have remarked.

Notably, the decision by the US administration followed three days of ⁠discussions in Washington between Canada's minister for trade with the US, Dominic LeBlanc, and Greer.

Although the malaise has been largely contained within these sectors, the new duties add to existing US tariffs on steel, lumber and autos which have taken major hit in the last 18 months.

For now, US hits Canadian goods with 50pc tariffs after trade talks fail remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.