Trade talks between the U.S. and Canada broke down on Friday, officials from both countries said, paving the way for the U.S. to impose 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods early on Saturday and risking escalation into an all-out trade war.
Trucks and other vehicles cross the bridge at the U.S.-Canada border in Fort Erie, Ontario, this week.
The neighboring nations had been locked in intense negotiations after President Trump extended an earlier tariff deadline set for Wednesday and indicated a deal could be close to final. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney congratulated negotiators from both countries this week for having made “significant progress” in the trade talks.
However, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters that talks broke down on Friday night, despite what he said was an offer from the Trump administration to offer Canada the “best treatment” of any major U.S. trading partner.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, conversely, said Friday that last-minute changes from the U.S. side “were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.” He said that he would impose dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods and introduce support for Canadian workers in the coming days.
“In recent weeks, we made important progress toward improving Canada’s position as having the best deal in the world with the U.S.,” Carney said in a statement. “However, that progress has not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians.”
The Trump administration first threatened the latest round of tariffs last month, saying they would be imposed in response to Canada’s provincial bans on American alcohol, protections for its domestic dairy industry and quotas and tariffs on some U.S. vehicles.
