At midnight on Saturday night, US time, the deadline expired and no agreement had been reached between the two countries. This means that hundreds of goods from Canada are subject to 50 percent tariffs in the US.
Mark Carney announced that his country will match the US tariffs “dollar for dollar, to protect businesses and workers.” Details of Canada’s response plan will come in the coming days, according to Carney.
The dollar-for-dollar retaliation will target steel, dairy products, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics, he said on Saturday.
Left the negotiations
The US blames Canada, and trade representative Jamieson Greer says it is Canada that left the negotiations.
"This evening, Canada refused to complete the trade agreement under the terms agreed upon earlier this week," Jamieson Greer told reporters.
According to Greer, the US has offered Canada "substantial tariff reductions" on several goods, but Canada has rejected the offer.
In total, the tariffs are on goods worth $20 billion, a relatively small portion of Canada's exports to the U.S. Some of the most important imports for the U.S., such as oil and critical minerals, are also not covered.
However, for example, hockey equipment, electronic goods and alcoholic beverages are added to the already existing tariffs on significantly more important and larger export products such as steel, timber and vehicles.
Radically deteriorated
The relationship between Canada and the United States has deteriorated radically during Donald Trump's presidency. Trump has spoken in various statements about making Canada part of the United States and referred to Mark Carney as "governor" instead of prime minister.
In various opinion polls in Canada, there has also been clear support expressed for standing up to Trump and the United States.
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