OTTAWA – The United States is imposing a 50 per cent tariff on a range of Canadian exports starting Saturday, after the two countries could not reach a new deal before a deadline imposed by President Donald Trump.
Trump threatened the new tariffs in July to pressure Canada to move on a number of issues that were flagged as irritants to the U.S., including provincial bans on alcohol imports, tariffs on some American made auto exports and quotas on tariff-free U.S. dairy exports.
The federal auto tariffs and the alcohol bans, which remain in effect everywhere but Alberta and Saskatchewan, were both initiated in response to Trump’s initial tariffs on Canada in 2025.
The new U.S. tariffs were to take effect on Aug. 19, but Trump delayed the implementation by three days to allow more time for talks to reach a deal.
Just before midnight Friday, both Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said those talks had broken off and a deal had not been reached.
The new tariffs will be applied to roughly five per cent of all of Canada’s exports to the United States, to a value of roughly $28 billion annually.
The tariffs are grouped by three executive orders loosely themed around motor vehicles, dairy and alcohol. But the content of each of U.S. President Donald Trump’s actual tariff lists are broader and not necessarily tied to those items.
Here’s a broad look at what will be affected:
- Milk and cream
- Whey and milk protein concentrates, including casein
- Bones and horn-cones
- Lactose, glucose, fructose and blended syrups
- Sugars, cane molasses
- Non-alcoholic beer
- Essential oils of peppermint
- Beer, wine, liquor, cider and other fermented beverages
- Essential oils of grapefruit
- Densified wood blocks, plates, strips
- Some wooden tableware
- Wood marquetry and inlaid wood, wooden articles of furniture
- Skewers and ice cream sticks, as well as bamboo products
- Basketwork and other articles
- Grease-proof paper
- Ice hockey and field hockey equipment, other than balls and skates
- Natural honey
- Down feathers
- Tortoise shell, whalebone, horns, antlers and other animal parts
- Tulips and other dormant flower buds, live orchids and mushroom spawn, tubers, mosses and lichen
- Vegetable, tree and shrub seeds
- A range of other vegetation and parts
- Perfumes containing alcohol and plant parts used in perfume
- Various essential oils
- Makeup preparations
- Doughs and other bakers’ mixes
- Bitters
- Synthetic paints and varnishes, printer inks
- Cements
- Candles
- Various fatty acids
- Vinyl floor tiles
- Non-plastic office supplies
- Plastic furniture fittings
- Household and toilet articles, tableware, kitchenware
- Dog leashes and saddles
- Luggage and other cases, such as for musical instruments
- Various fibreboard, laminate and plywood sheets
- Various paper, wallpaper, binders, paper pulp products
- Silk, yarn, carpet and other various textiles
- T-shirts, sweaters, trousers, dresses, gloves, coats and other clothing items of various materials
- Wigs, false beards, eyebrows of synthetic textile materials
- Glass packing materials
- Non-industrial diamonds, not set
- Various gold, silver and imitation jewelry
- A range of power tools and equipment
- Armoured safes, locks and lockboxes
- Brewery machinery
- Refrigerating or freezing furniture and equipment
- Vacuums
- Smartphones and other recording devices
- Devices containing semiconductors for data transmission and storage
- Cameras and projectors
- Radar equipment and antennae, optical fibre cables
- Motorcycles fitted with an engine capacity of 800 cc or greater
- Floating docks, vessels and rafts
- Furniture seats and parts made of wood, plastic and metal with a range of outlined uses and exemptions
- Chandeliers and lamps
- Toys, puzzles and models
- Video game consoles
- Christmas and other festival decorations
- Ice skates, golf and gym equipment
- Swimming pools, wading pools and parts
- Fishing rods and parts
- Paintings, drawings, collages, sculptures of various ages
- Postage stamps and other collectors’ pieces
- Antiques of an age exceeding 100 years but not exceeding 250 years
