Donald Trump has unveiled an expansive new tariff threat against Canada, saying key parts of the country’s auto sector will face duties rising to 50 percent.
‘Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years,’ Trump posted on social media Monday morning. ‘On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%.’
‘Canada will be treated like a State no longer! On Trade, and in other ways, also, they are among the worst Nations in the World to deal with. They feel entitled, and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!’
Trump also claimed the longtime US ally has imposed ‘ridiculously high tariffs’ on American farmers, arguing the measures have made life ‘impossible for these great American Patriots.’
The announcement followed a fresh round of US tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian goods that took effect Saturday morning, raising costs on imports including hockey equipment and wine.
Washington’s current tariff measures already cover a broad list of Canadian products, including lumber, steel, aluminum, alcohol, dairy, clothing, textiles and other goods.
The latest escalation in Trump’s trade fight with America’s northern neighbor comes just days after a major trade agreement between the two countries collapsed.
‘We’re going to hit back,’ Carney said following the new tariff hike on Saturday morning.
President Donald Trump released a furious statement on Monday morning accusing Canada of ‘ripping off the United States of America for years.’ On Saturday, the US imposted a new 50 percent tariff on some Canadian goods after negotiations on a trade deal fell through
‘Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses,’ Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement on Saturday shortly after the new rates went into effect
‘Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%,’ Trump said on Monday. Above, a Toyota assembly plany in Ontario is shown
The PM said Washington introduced language in the final hours of negotiations that would have restricted Canada’s ability to make trade deals with other countries. He said that demand was ‘unacceptable’ and ‘a question of sovereignty.’
On Saturday, Carney ratcheted up his language, referring to the US’s new tariffs as an ‘attack’ on Canada.
‘You’re at war when you’re attacked, and we got attacked,’ Carney said.
Representatives for the US and Canada were locked in negotiations for roughly a month before the agreement, which both sides said was close, broke apart just before the finish line last week.
On August 19, when the tariffs were originally set to go into effect, Donald Trump extended a window for the two countries to continue negotiating ‘based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!’
But that gambit proved insufficient, and now both sides are blaming each other.
American officials have blamed their Canadian counterparts for introducing new demands late in the negotiations, including those seeking lower rates on heavy trucks.
‘Despite the U.S. offer to Canada to receive the best treatment of any major exporter to our market, new demands and walk backs of other commitments by Canada have upended the careful balance reached in the past days,’ said a statement from the US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer.
Trump and Carney have met multiple times during the Republican’s second term, but despite the sit-downs, the two leaders could not avoid another trade spat
‘Canada declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week.’
Likewise, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Canadian officials have in turn blamed the Trump administration for changing their demands.
‘Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses,’ Carney said in a statement on Saturday shortly after the new rates went into effect.
The PM said its retaliatory tariffs targeting US goods would go into effect on September 8. The new rates target US steel, dairy, agricultural equipment and other sectors.
The fallout could raise prices further ahead of the midterm election as US voters are already wary of inflated costs.
In 2025, the US and Canada exchanged $872 billion worth of goods and services, according to the USTR’s office.
Concerns over the economy have come to the forefront of US politics ahead of the US midterm elections.
A July Gallup survey found that just 24 percent of respondents rate the US economy as ‘excellent’ or ‘good.’
Many Americans remain sour on the US economy, with just 41 percent of the respondents calling it ‘fair’ and 35 percent describing it as ‘poor.’
Meanwhile, Democrats across the country have honed in on this concern and campaigned on making things more affordable.
Prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi show that Republicans are favored to lose control of the House of Representatives in the midterms. The Senate remains a toss-up between Democratic and Republican control, according to the prediction markets.
If Republicans lose either chamber, it could spell trouble for Trump as he would need at least some Democratic support to get any of his policy priorities passed and signed into law.
