Customs duties: Ottawa and Washington at an impasse, Carney promises to respond “to the nearest dollar”
Ottawa fights back. Faced with the new 50% customs duties imposed on Saturday August 22 by the President of the United States on Canadian products such as cement or hockey sticks, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to act by demanding the same amount “to the nearest dollar”.
Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc spent the week in Washington to try to resolve this crisis between the two neighbors whose relations have significantly deteriorated since the start of Donald Trump’s second term.
But negotiators left Friday evening without an agreement, triggering the entry into force at 00:01 (04:01 GMT) of these punitive surcharges, affecting a total of $20 billion in Canadian imports. This represents about 5.5% of Canadian exports to the United States, according to some estimates.
“Despite an American offer to Canada to receive better treatment than any exporter in our market, new demands and setbacks on other commitments by Canada have upset the fragile balance obtained in recent days,” regretted the White House Trade Representative (USTR), Jamieson Greer.
According to him, the American government notably offered to lower sectoral customs duties affecting steel and aluminum, the automobile sector and even construction lumber, in exchange for concessions from Canada, which were not detailed.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced, in a press release published on X, that his government will impose customs duties against the United States for the same amount, “to the nearest dollar”.
“The last minute changes made by the United States to the proposed conditions were unfair, uneconomic and called into question the reliability of any agreement,” he explained, to justify Ottawa’s refusal to sign the agreement.
These surcharges, announced in July, were initially due to come into force on Wednesday but the American president granted a three-day delay, given the progress of the discussions.
Donald Trump displayed his optimism on Friday, believing that the United States “should be able to conclude an agreement with Canada”, highlighting his “good relationship” with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
First commercial partner
If the majority of Canadian products are exempt from American customs duties thanks to the free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico (CUSMA), the surcharges imposed by Donald Trump since last year have had a strong impact on certain strategic sectors such as aluminum, steel or the automobile industry, closely linked to the American market.
This new series opens a new breach by affecting in particular products which are normally protected by the free trade agreement.
Canada vs Trump: the tone is rising, border residents are organizing
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Cover image: Focus © France 24
However, the sticking points no longer seemed very numerous, a few hours before the gong.
The Canadian government had even sent signs of goodwill, notably asking provincial authorities to put an end to the boycott of American wines and spirits, a central demand from Washington which also demands more favorable conditions for its dairy producers on the Canadian market.
But the leaders of the provinces, who hold the monopoly on the sale of alcohol on their territory and are the only ones competent in the matter, are far from all convinced.
Very economically dependent on the United States, Canada found itself on the front line in the trade war launched by Donald Trump, who has repeatedly said he wants to make it the “51e American state.
Since coming to power in March 2025, Mark Carney has been trying to reduce his country’s dependence on its big neighbor by seeking new trade partners in Asia or Europe.
The United States is, by far, Canada’s largest trading partner, with Canadian exports to this country currently representing around 70% of the total.
Beyond the negotiations underway on Friday, the two countries must agree on the future of the free trade treaty Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement which Washington refused to renew permanently last month.
With AFP
