The Trump administration announced overnight Monday a new 50% tariff on selected Canadian products, including wine, hockey sticks and cement, in what it described as a response to Canada’s “continued discrimination” against American goods. The tariff will take effect in 30 days, though administration officials said the door remains open to negotiations.
An administration official described the tariffs as “defensive measures” intended to address discriminatory Canadian actions and warned that the administration would insist on holding Canada accountable. Energy and essential goods, including fish and critical minerals, will be exempt.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office
(Photo: Jim Watson/AFP)
Trump did not mention the planned tariffs during a private conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney a day earlier at the 2026 World Cup final.
The administration official said that although the president and prime minister had met privately, the discussion was not intended, from the U.S. perspective, to focus on trade or tariffs.
Additional tariffs on Canada could also be imposed.
The move comes amid a separate threat by Trump to demand compensation from Canada over wildfire smoke that polluted the air across the northeastern United States and along the East Coast last week.
Trump told reporters Sunday that Canada might be required to pay compensation, warning that tariffs could otherwise follow.
U.S. officials, however, said the new levy was not a separate “wildfire tariff” and that the president was still considering his options on the issue.
The U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada stood at $46.4 billion in 2025, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Trump, who has long viewed Canada as an economic rival and has frequently joked about making it the 51st U.S. state, has a cordial but strained relationship with Carney.
Existing U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods include 25% duties on steel and aluminum, 35% on softwood lumber, 10% on certain energy products, 12.5% on goods linked to forced-labor restrictions and 25% on vehicles not made in the United States.
Canada, for its part, has imposed a 25% tariff on fully assembled vehicles imported from the United States, as well as duties on alcoholic beverages and dairy products exceeding certain import thresholds.