President Donald Trump on Monday said he would impose higher tariffs on additional Canadian products beginning Jan. 1, in a sign that his trade war with Canada is intensifying following this weekend’s collapse of negotiations between the two nations.
“Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years. Their ridiculously high tariffs on our Farmers and farm products has made life impossible for these great American Patriots,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media site, Truth Social. He added, “On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%.”
The more than four-month delay in the tariffs’ effective date leaves time for negotiations to resume between the once-close allies.
Relations have soured since the failure of talks this weekend aimed at averting an earlier batch of Trump tariffs, a 50 percent duty on goods including hockey sticks, beer and whisky. After the U.S. tariffs took effect early Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his nation had been “attacked” by the United States and was “at war.” The Canadian leader said Canada would retaliate with tariffs of its own on U.S. products beginning Sept. 8.
In his social media post, Trump lambasted Canada as “among the worst Nations in the World to deal with.”
Canadian soldiers have fought alongside Americans in every major war since World War I.
Trump wrongly said the U.S. ran a $60 billion annual trade deficit with Canada. In fact, the annual shortfall is $48 billion. Most economists say that bilateral trade deficits are of little economic significance.
“WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED U.S.! They do 95% of their business with the U.S., with us, the exact opposite!” the president added.
U.S. farmers rely on Canadian suppliers for nearly 80 percent of the potash fertilizer they use each year. Northern border states, including New York, Michigan, Vermont, Minnesota and Maine, run on electricity produced by Canadian hydropower. And Midwestern refineries are optimized to process heavy sour crude oil from Canadian wells, which keeps U.S. gas prices lower than they otherwise would be.
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