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Canada announces retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. as the countries' trade fight deepens

Tractor trailers cross the Peace Bridge at the Canada-United States border in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, on Aug. 20.
Cole Burston
/
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Tractor trailers cross the Peace Bridge at the Canada-United States border in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, on Aug. 20.

Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on hundreds of U.S. goods on Tuesday as the two countries fell deeper into a trade fight.

Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the countermeasures will match U.S. tariffs "dollar for dollar, rate for rate," with tariffs of 15%, 25% and 50% on a range of exports from the U.S., effective Sept. 8.

He said the countertariffs will focus on steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics, totaling nearly $20 billion worth of U.S. annual imports. (The Finance Ministry published the list of products here.)

The move comes after President Trump imposed 50% tariffs on many Canadian goods and threatened more after trade talks broke down on Friday.

"When the United States asked too much and offered too little, we chose to stand up for Canadians," Champagne said.

"Canada's countertariffs are designed primarily to provide protection for Canadian industry impacted by U.S. tariffs and allow them to compete against U.S. products in the Canadian market," he said. "It's all about fairness. It's all about level playing field. It's all about supporting Canadian workers and Canadian businesses."

Leading up to Canada's announcement, President Trump took to social media to vent frustration with the country. He accused Canada of "ripping off" the U.S. for decades. He insulted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney by calling him "Governor Carney." And he said the U.S. was considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America." Trump has also repeatedly said Canada should become a U.S. state.

Carney suspended trade talks with the U.S. on Friday, saying last-minute changes to the U.S. proposal were "unfair, uneconomic and called into question the reliability of any deal."

At a news conference the next day, Carney likened the U.S. actions against Canada to a conflict. "You're at war when you get attacked. We got attacked," he said.

This is a developing story that may be updated.

Copyright 2026 NPR

Alex Leff is a digital editor on NPR's International Desk, helping oversee coverage from journalists around the world for its growing Internet audience.