Trade talks collapse as US hits Canada with 50% duties
File photo: REUTERS
Following three days of unsuccessful negotiations in Washington, DC, US slapped 50 percent tariffs on around $20 billion in Canadian goods after trade officials failed to finalize an agreement.
Both governments confirmed the lack of a deal immediately after President Donald Trump’s deadline expired on Saturday. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed that his nation would retaliate against the new import taxes “dollar for dollar”.
In an official statement, Carney declared, “In recent weeks, we made important progress toward improving Canada’s position as having the best deal in the world with the US,” but lamented, “However, that progress has not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians.”
He quickly detailed his plan to shield citizens from the fallout of the mounting trade war, announcing that his administration would roll out protective measures to aid local workers and businesses in the coming days.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer placed the blame squarely on Ottawa, labeling the breakdown “a missed opportunity for Canada to partner with the US.”
Greer said, “Canada declined to finalise the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week,” while asserting, “Despite the US offer to Canada to receive the best treatment of any major exporter to our market, new demands and walkbacks of other commitments by Canada have upended the careful balance reached in the past days.”
The newly implemented penalties will disrupt roughly 5 percent of all Canadian exports entering the US market, specifically targeting electronics, industrial machinery, and dairy products. These levies build upon existing American tariffs that already impact steel, lumber, and automobiles.
Trump ignited the dispute by slapping duties on crucial Canadian imports early in his second presidential term last year, which forced Ottawa to launch its own set of retaliatory countermeasures. The two trading partners have engaged in a continuous economic tussle since then, with Trump repeatedly threatening new trade barriers.
White House initially announced these trade penalties in July after Trump accused Canada of “discriminatory treatment of American products.” Even though he expressed optimism to reporters on Friday about securing a deal, his prediction ultimately proved incorrect as the deadline lapsed without an agreement.
The heavy duties threaten to inflict severe financial damage on numerous Canadian enterprises that rely on exporting these targeted products to American buyers.
Earlier this week, Julian Karaguesian, a trade expert and lecturer at McGill University in Montreal, warned, “Tariffs of 50 percent would effectively price hundreds of Canadian goods out of the US market.”
Source: Al Jazeera (adapted)
