Canada's retaliatory tariffs on US goods take effect — SkimNews
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- Mark Carney told Canadians the pivot away from the US as largest trading partner "will come at a cost" as retaliatory tariffs on nearly C$28bn ($20bn; £15bn) of American goods came into force.
- Canada's counter-tariffs range from 15% to 50%, hitting American steel, aluminium, milk, golf clubs, jackets and T-shirts at 50%, while cheese, toilet paper and air conditioners face 25%.
- U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Washington could impose tit-for-tat tariffs on Canada as early as Tuesday, responding in French to CBC News.
- Trump threatened to halt all US business with Bombardier unless the aerospace giant moves manufacturing south; Bombardier contributed over C$7bn to Canada's GDP in 2024.
- Canada removed dozens of seafood items from its counter-tariff list after fisheries industry pushback, acknowledging the lobster industry's dependence on cross-border processing.
- Canada's economy lost 41,000 jobs in August, coinciding with tariff escalation, despite earlier gains of 181,000 jobs from April to July and Q2 GDP growth of 3.3%; US-bound exports fell to 66% of total from a pre-war average of 75%.
Why it matters: The world's largest bilateral trading relationship — nearly $900bn last year — is now in active tariff warfare despite both sides saying they'd prefer a deal, with the US economy roughly 13 times the size of Canada's, leaving Ottawa limited leverage as it tries to force diversification.
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