Trump hits Canada with new 50% tariffs
By: Josy Garrison
USA Today
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump took executive action on July 20 [2026] to impose a new 50% tariff on a wide range of imports from Canada in retaliation for what his administration called "discriminatory" Canadian trade practices in certain industries against the United States, according to administration officials.
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The move, which risks reigniting a trade war between Canada ad the United States, comes after Trump threated tariffs against the country in response to smoke that entered the United States form wildfires ion Canada. An administration official said Trump's exploring unspecified tariff options for the wildfire response, however.
..... The sweeping tariff, which go into effect August 19, [2026] apply to a range of Canadian imports - form wine and dairy to hockey sticks to cement, an official said - but do not extend to energy, potash, fish and critical mineral among other exemptions. all other Canadian ex[ports, including those singled out as tariff-free in the United States-Canada-Mexico agreement singed in 2019, are subject to the tariff.
..... Trump administration officials, who discussed the move with reporters on the conditions of anonymity, cited Canadian trade practices on alcoholic beverages, automobiles and dairy products exported from the United States for prompting the action, which the officer characterized as " defensive measures."
..... IN the past year, [2025] all but two Canadian provinces have halted the purchase of alcohol from the United States but not from other countries. Canada has imposed tariffs on automobiles form the United States but not other countries. And Canada has established tariff-rate quotas on cheese from the United States
that are more restrictive than the Canadian policy with the European policy with the European Union, officials said.
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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney defended his country's trade actions in a statement on Trump's latest tariffs, arguing that Canada has "merely matched" the tariffs and trade policies imposed by the United States.
..... "Canada believes in the benefits of free and fair trade," Carney said, pointing to trade agreements Canada has reached with other nations besides the United Sates. "This trade dispute has raised costs for families, particularly in the U.S. Canada stands reedy to engage intensively to address outstanding issues with the U.S. to the mutual benefit of our citizens."
..... Trump signed three proclamations formalizing the tariffs, which were made by invoking Section 338 of the Tariff act of 1930, often referred to a s the Smoot-Hawley Tariff act. The century-old law is a different statute than the law Trump previously cited - the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 - in his push to sue presidential emergency powers to impose reciprocal tariffs on countries.
..... The Supreme Court in February [2026] blocked Trump's use of emergency powers to impose tariffs under the 1977 law, forcing the White House to pursue other legal avenues to unilaterally levy fees on imports. For more than a year, the United States and Canada have targeted exports from each other in a deepening trade war.