(AFP) – US President Donald Trump said Monday that he would double tariffs on Canadian vehicles beginning next year, as the historically friendly neighbors spiral towards an escalating trade war. Trump’s latest threat comes after the North American neighbors failed Friday to reach a deal to avert new 50-percent US tariffs on select Canadian goods. The duties took effect on Saturday.
“On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The current US tariff impacting Canadian autos stands at 25 percent for non-US content, while imported steel to the United States generally faces a 50-percent duty. US automakers did not immediately comment on the matter.
After walking away from what he called a “bad deal,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced retaliatory tariffs effective September 8. The tariffs will target US steel and dairy, while also covering sectors like agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, as well as electronics. On Monday, Carney said the goal of trade talks with Washington “has always been to get the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any time frame.” He added that despite progress towards a pact, “that momentum reversed” in the end, stressing that building domestically and diversifying trade abroad has been “plan A from the start.”
Over the weekend, Carney said one reason the deal collapsed was that US negotiators sought last-minute restrictions on Canadian trade deals with other countries. US negotiators also made unacceptable “threats” to the French language and “Quebec culture,” he said, referring to the French-speaking province in eastern Canada. The United States is by far Canada’s biggest trading partner, with Canadian exports to its neighbor representing 70 percent of its overall total. Canada is the United States’ second biggest trading partner in goods this year, behind Mexico, government data showed.
Three in four Canadians support the Carney government’s decision to walk away from trade talks, according to polling released Sunday by the Angus Reid Institute. However, the research group noted that two in five have some fear about their jobs. Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticized Trump’s tariff threat on autos, telling Ottawa’s Newstalk 580 CFRA: “We’re going to go at him full steam.”
The White House had alleged “discriminatory treatment” by Canada against US alcohol, automobile and dairy products in rolling out the 50-percent tariffs. Trump delayed their implementation by three days last week as Washington and Ottawa intensified talks towards a deal. Top Canadian negotiator Dominic LeBlanc and his team were at US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s office in Washington for hours on Thursday and Friday. However, both sides failed to reach an agreement after talks that continued late into Friday night.
The latest duties hit about 5.5 percent of Canadian goods entering the United States, or some $20 billion worth of products ranging from hockey sticks to cement. Trump charged Monday that “Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years,” adding that “we don’t need Canada, they need us.” Greer told the New York Times on Saturday that the Trump administration offered to eliminate a 10-percent tariff on softwood lumber, and reduce the 25-percent autos tariff. Washington was also ready to cut steel tariffs from 50 percent to 25 percent for the majority of Canadian steel, according to Greer.
Besides the tariffs fight, Washington and Ottawa also have to agree on revisions to the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement (USMCA) which Trump has declined to renew in its current form. Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st US state have antagonized many Canadians too.
– Beiyi SEOW
© 2024 AFP
