Canada activated in the early hours of Tuesday, September 8, retaliatory tariffs of between 15% and 50% on U.S. imports worth 27,600 million Canadian dollars, in response to the 50% tariff that, according to the Canadian government, the United States applied from August 22 on Canadian goods, including automobiles and raw materials, for an equivalent value. This was reported by The Guardian.
The Canadian government stated that the rates cover the sectors most affected by Washington's measures and do not apply to goods in transit on the day they took effect. The retaliation was also reported by The Hill. The escalation follows weeks of friction: Prime Minister Mark Carney called on the U.S. administration last week to take negotiations seriously, and tensions have spread from the trade front to the diplomatic arena. For Mexico, the core issue is that the dispute takes place within the USMCA, the agreement integrating North America's three economies: two partners have entered open escalation while the third negotiates with the same counterpart. For Latin America, the tit-for-tat response between trade partners within the same treaty offers a reference point for managing tariff disputes.
The Canadian package is concentrated in six sectors:
- Steel - Dairy - Home appliances - Agricultural equipment - Pulp and paper - Electronics
The rates mirror, dollar for dollar, the 50% burden the United States imposed on August 22 on Canadian exports. Unresolved underlying differences also remain, such as Quebec's language protections, which Canada considers rights, to the point that Prime Minister Mark Carney said he will not accept any agreement that weakens them, and which U.S. negotiators have raised as an obstacle for their companies, according to The Guardian.
The rates took effect at 00:01 on Tuesday. Attention now turns to Washington's response and whether the list of targeted products expands in the coming days, an outcome Mexico is watching closely as the third partner in the trade agreement.
This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.