TORONTO—Canada struck back at the United States on Tuesday with retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion worth of American goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances, and farm equipment, as the trade war between the once-friendly neighbors escalated sharply.
The tension threatened one of the world’s largest trading relationships. The new tariffs extended well beyond industrial goods, hitting everyday purchases such as seafood, cheese, clothing, cosmetics, and toilet paper, with some facing duties as high as 50 percent.
Canada's retaliation came after the Trump administration imposed 50 percent tariffs over the weekend on Canadian goods following the collapse of trade negotiations. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada and said U.S. demands during the failed talks showed that Americans wanted to “destroy our major industries."
President Donald Trump intensified the confrontation Monday, telling Canadian leaders to “fall in line” or face consequences “far WORSE” than existing tariffs and threatening new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts, and steel.
Trump added on Tuesday that the United States was giving “serious consideration” to renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” in a feud with Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Such a change would be reminiscent of the Republican president’s action last year by executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
The tariffs will take effect Sept. 8 at rates of 15 percent, 25 percent and 50 percent, with Canada matching the corresponding U.S. tariff rate on more than 700 products such as pulp and paper and electronics. The tariffs on many American products would double from 25 percent to 50 percent, with the largest share of the new measures affecting steel and aluminum.
Canadian officials said the goal is not to raise revenue but to protect Canadian companies and reduce U.S. imports.
U.S. steel imports, for example, have already fallen 30 percent since Canada imposed a 25 percent tariff, and the new 50 percent rate is expected to cut them further, Canadian officials said.
Goods facing 50 percent tariffs include some steel and aluminum products, furniture and clothing. Appliances, dairy products including cheese, fish and seafood, and certain steel and aluminum derivatives will face 25 percent tariffs. Existing Canadian countertariffs on U.S. autos will remain in place.
Canada also announced a support package for workers and businesses affected by the dispute worth $7.5 billion in Canadian dollars ($5.4 billion in U.S. dollars).
Canadian officials acknowledged the counter tariffs will raise costs for some businesses and consumers but said they expect the overall economic effects to be moderate.
They said the government has provided more than $30 billion Canadian dollars (US$21.7 billion) in tariff-related support since the beginning of 2025—far more than it has collected in retaliatory duties—as it tries to cushion the blow from the trade fight.
Canada and the United States have deeply integrated supply chains across autos, energy, agriculture, and manufacturing, making a prolonged trade fight potentially costly for businesses and workers on both sides of the border.
On Monday, Carney said U.S. negotiators had raised the discoverability of French-language content on streaming platforms, along with French-language labeling rules, as trade irritants. He rejected the idea that those protections were negotiable, saying in French: “For the Americans, questions about the French language, Quebec culture, francophone culture, and Canadian culture are irritants. Here in Quebec, here in Canada, they are rights."
In a social media post early Tuesday, Trump wrote: “I would never interfere with Canadians speaking French! In fact, I have never even thought of doing such a stupid thing. This lie was made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support, which he has totally lost, from the people of Quebec. I love French Canadians!”