Steel, yogurt, electronics… Canada’s response to American products comes into force

The Canadian response is launched. Canadian surcharges affecting a series of American products came into force on Tuesday, September 8, in retaliation for new customs duties imposed at the end of August by Washington.

These customs duties of 15, 25 or 50% affect approximately $20 billion of American products, or $27.6 billion Canadian dollars, from steel to dairy products, electronics and pulp. An amount corresponding “to the nearest dollar”, according to Ottawa, to that of Canadian products targeted since August 22 by American surcharges of 50%.

The trade conflict between the two neighbors has reached an unprecedented level since Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney broke off negotiations with the White House on August 21.

The former central banker accused the United States of having wanted to impose an “unfair” agreement and of ultimately having the objective of making Canada a “subsidiary” and “destroying” its industry, particularly the automobile industry.

Haro on the French language

He also justified his position by the conditions imposed by Washington on the French language, a politically sensitive subject in Canada. According to him, the draft agreement called into question the place of French-speaking media online or the obligation of bilingual labeling of products sold in Canada. The White House denied it, ensuring that it had never made this subject a “red line”.

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A resumption of negotiations is not on the agenda and the exchange of barbs has not stopped for two weeks.

On Monday, Donald Trump threatened to attack the sales of Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, before the Canadian response came into force: “No more Bombardier sales in the United States,” he exclaimed on his Truth Social network.

Bombardier responded by recalling that its planes “generate tens of thousands of jobs in the United States”, where it is established in around twenty states and uses 2,800 suppliers.

The US Secretaries of Treasury and Defense, Scott Bessent and Pete Hegseth, had previously mocked the Canadian army, doubting their neighbor’s ability to defend itself.

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“We are not at war with Canada. How could we be at war with Canada? Are they going to take their two submarines from the Edmonton shopping center and throw them at us?” quipped the first, referring to an attraction that existed in the past in a famous “mall” in western Canada.

“We cannot engage in a tit-for-tat policy with someone who is thirteen times bigger than you,” he added.

“It’s not constructive”

“Unworthy” remarks, according to Mark Carney, who called on the Trump administration to stop the “memes” and stop “playing tough”. “It’s not constructive, but it’s their democracy,” he said.

Donald Trump also signed a decree to change the name of Lake Ontario, whose waters are shared between the two countries, to “Lake America”, sparking a wave of protest in Canada. “The Canadians have treated us very badly. They are bad people,” he said, during this signing in the Oval Office.

The American president also threatened the automobile industry, a key sector in Canada, with an increase in customs duties from 25 to 50% on 1^er January.

Public aid to impacted sectors

Supported by Canadian public opinion, Mark Carney nevertheless made a risky bet economically as Canada is dependent on its big neighbor. Nearly 60% of Canada’s imports come from the United States and approximately 70% of its exports go there.

In order to help hard-hit sectors, his government released an envelope of 7.5 billion Canadian dollars (4.6 billion euros) intended to support the cash flow of businesses, strengthen unemployment compensation and create a “Diversification Fund for a Strong Canada” to find new export markets.

With AFP