Trade conflict with the United States: Canada’s measures against American products come into force on Tuesday
Canadian surcharges affecting a series of American products came into force on Tuesday September 8, in retaliation for the new customs duties imposed at the end of August by Washington, while no easing of the trade conflict between the two countries is in sight.
These customs duties of 15%, 25% or 50% affect around 20 billion dollars of American products, around 17 billion euros, from steel to dairy products including electronics and pulp and paper. A corresponding amount “to the nearest dollar”according to Ottawa, to that of Canadian products targeted since August 22 by American surcharges of 50%. We did not choose this trade conflict. But we must stand up and defend our interestsjustified the Canadian Minister of Finance, François-Philippe Champagne, on August 25 by announcing this response. We will never accept that another country dictates the path to follow. Our future belongs to us. »
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 wanting to impose an agreement “unfair” and to ultimately have the objective of making Canada a “subsidiary” and of ” destroy “ its industry, particularly automotive.
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, asserting that it had never made this subject a “red line”.
Donald Trump threaten Bombardier
A resumption of negotiations is not on the agenda and the acrimonious exchanges have 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: “More Bombardier sales in the United States”he exclaimed on his Truth Social network.
Bombardier reacted 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 Treasury and Defense Secretaries, Scott Bessent and Pete Hegseth, had previously mocked the Canadian army, doubting their neighbor’s ability to defend itself.
“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 Mall and throw them at us? »was the first to ironically refer to an attraction that existed in the past in a famous mall from western Canada. “We can’t engage in a tit-for-tat policy with someone who is thirteen times bigger than you”he added. Words “unworthy”according to Mark Carney, who called on the Trump administration to stop “play tough”. “It’s not constructive, but it’s their democracy”he swept away.
Donald Trump also signed an executive order 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 treated us very badly. They’re 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 1er January 2027.
