Trump orders new 50% tariffs on Canadian goods

United States President Donald Trump has signed executive orders imposing new 50 per cent tariffs on a broad range of Canadian imports, accusing Ottawa of maintaining trade policies that unfairly discriminate against American products.

According to a White House fact sheet released on Monday, the new tariffs will take effect in 30 days and will apply to several Canadian exports, including wine, hockey sticks and cement.

The White House said the move was prompted by what the administration described as Canada’s discriminatory treatment of US alcohol, automobile and dairy products.

To implement the new measures, Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a rarely used legal provision that authorises the US government to impose trade penalties on countries found to be engaging in discriminatory practices against American commerce.

Despite the broad scope of the tariffs, the White House said the measures would not apply to energy products, potash or goods already covered by existing sector-specific tariffs.

However, products traded under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, USMCA, will be subject to the new duties, marking a significant departure from previous tariff actions.

Since returning to office last year, Trump has introduced sweeping tariffs on several US trading partners, but goods imported under the North American trade pact had largely been exempt from those measures.

The latest action is expected to heighten trade tensions between the United States and Canada.

It also comes just days after Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Canadian goods over smoke from wildfires that spread into parts of the United States, blaming Canada for failing to adequately manage its forests.

Trump orders new 50% tariffs on Canadian goods