US President Donald Trump has signed orders imposing new 50% tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods, accusing Ottawa of discriminatory treatment of American alcohol, vehicles and dairy products.
The tariffs will take effect in 30 days and cover products including wine, hockey sticks and cement, according to the White House.
The new duties rely on Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, an untested legal provision that the Trump administration has turned to after the US Supreme Court struck down many of the president’s earlier tariffs imposed under emergency powers.
Energy, potash and goods already subject to sector-specific tariffs will be excluded from the new measures. However, the tariffs will also apply to products covered by the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, raising concerns about the future of the North American trade framework.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa was ready to intensify negotiations with Washington and had made proposals aimed at resolving disputes and modernising the USMCA.
Carney said the latest action was part of a series of unilateral US trade measures that he claimed violated the agreement. Canada, he said, had responded within its rights by matching some of those measures.
The announcement has raised concerns among businesses about a further escalation between the two countries, which have closely integrated economies.
Trump has imposed tariffs on trading partners since returning to the presidency, but previous measures often exempted goods entering the US under the USMCA. The latest action removes that protection for a wider range of Canadian products.
The new tariffs also come days after Trump threatened Canada with additional duties over wildfire smoke that had drifted into parts of the United States.
The White House accused Canada of retaliating against US tariffs imposed in 2025 and criticised restrictions affecting American alcohol, dairy products and vehicles.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canadian provinces had removed American alcohol products from store shelves, while Canada had expanded market access for dairy products from the European Union and limited US vehicle exports.
He said the tariffs were intended to hold Canada accountable for what Washington described as retaliation and discrimination.
Chris Swonger, president of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said the industry welcomed the focus on Canada’s restrictions but had hoped the dispute could be resolved without further escalation.
He warned that steep tariffs could trigger additional retaliation at a time when many US hospitality businesses were already facing financial pressure.
The measures now place renewed pressure on both governments to reach an agreement before the 30-day deadline expires.
