Canada vows to match US tariffs ‘dollar for dollar’ as Trump’s 50% taxes come into force

Canada has vowed to match 50 per cent U.S. tariffs on Canadian products “dollar for dollar” as Donald Trump ’s import taxes come into force.

The tariffs, on $20 billion worth of Canadian products, came into force early Saturday after last-minute negotiations failed.

Trump’s tariffs will hit about 5 per cent of what Canada ships to the U.S. every year.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney immediately promised to retaliate, saying: “Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses.”

Canada sought concessions on steel, aluminium, lumber and cars, but the U.S. was unwilling to provide those, a senior official in the Trump administration said.

“Tonight, Canada declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said shortly before midnight.

“Despite the U.S. offer to Canada to receive the best treatment of any major exporter to our market, new demands and walk-backs of other commitments by Canada have upended the careful balance reached in the past days.”

Carney blamed Washington for the breakdown, saying that “last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.”

He said that he had suspended negotiations and told Canada’s negotiating team to return to Ottawa.

He added that his government would announce additional support for Canadian workers and businesses in the coming days.

Greer said that the U.S. offer was “forward-looking” and included “a historic economic and national security partnership.”

No further talks have been planned. The breakdown in negotiations marked a sharp reversal from two days earlier, when officials from the two countries sounded as if they were headed toward a compromise.

Carney said Canada’s goal throughout the negotiations had been to secure the best possible agreement, “never a deal at any price or on any deadline.”

The political impact will likely be even bigger than the economic fallout. The countries sold each other $880 billion worth of goods and services in 2025.