Raging Trump Canada Trade War Set To Bring Sticker Shock

India-West News Desk

OTTAWA – Americans are likely to see higher prices on a range of goods after Canada announced new retaliatory tariffs as the trade dispute with the United States escalating.

The Canadian government said August 25 that it will impose tariffs of 15%, 25% and 50% on a range of U.S. products, matching U.S. tariffs “dollar for dollar, rate for rate.” The countermeasures will take effect September 8.

The tariffs will cover a broad range of products, including fish and seafood, cheese, honey, cosmetics, clothing, household appliances, steel and aluminum products, smartphones, video game consoles, motorcycles and exercise equipment.

The measures come after President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on many Canadian goods and threatened further action after trade talks between the two countries broke down August 21.

Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the government chose to respond after the United States “asked too much and offered too little.”

The escalation, however, has strengthened support at home for Prime Minister Mark Carney with polls showing that Canadians are fed up of Trump rhetoric on making the country another US state, CBC said.

A former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England who understands world trade and economics, when Carney walked away from trade talks, his decision has resonated with Canadians, with the trade dispute increasingly framed in Canada as an issue of national sovereignty rather than simply tariffs, Axios pointed out.

Canada’s position contrasts with that of some other major U.S. trading partners including the EU that have made concessions to avoid higher tariffs.