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The United States imposed 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products early Saturday after last-ditch negotiations failed to resolve tensions between the longtime allies, CBS News reported. Canadian officials stated that the country would match the measures precisely with its own tariffs beginning on September 8. The US action followed more than a year of Canadian retaliatory duties that Washington said had prompted the latest countermeasures, a US spokesperson named Greer indicated in remarks carried by the outlet.
Canada’s response targets steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics, according to the CBS News account of the developing dispute. The latest escalation builds on trade measures that have unfolded since early 2025, when the US first levied tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. In response at that time, Canada applied 25 percent counter-tariffs on roughly C$30 billion of US goods including metals, consumer products and other items, Department of Finance Canada records show.
Some of those initial Canadian retaliatory tariffs on miscellaneous products were removed effective September 1, 2025, under an order-in-council that repealed parts of the United States Surtax Order, the Department of Finance Canada documented. Counter-tariffs on US steel, aluminum and autos nevertheless remained in force as negotiations continued. The Department of Finance Canada noted that the approach sought to protect Canadian workers while pressing for a negotiated settlement that would restore tariff-free access under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement for most goods.
US tariffs imposed in July 2026 under Section 301 replaced earlier measures that had been struck down by courts, a Trade Commissioner Service overview stated. Those developments set the stage for the current round of 50 percent duties that Canada now mirrors. The complete list of products still facing Canadian counter-tariffs after the September 2025 adjustments covered 313 HS codes focused on the sensitive sectors, according to the government compilation.
A White & Case analysis of the 2025 tariff packages placed the initial Canadian retaliation at C$155 billion across two waves, targeting a broad range of American exports. The firm noted that the measures came directly after US announcements on steel, aluminum and other sectors. Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne previously described such US tariffs as unwarranted, a characterization that echoed in statements tied to the current dispute.
Ongoing talks between the two governments have yet to yield a breakthrough on the underlying issues that include dairy access, automotive rules of origin and provincial alcohol sales policies, multiple government releases indicated. The Department of Finance Canada emphasized that remaining counter-tariffs would stay until the United States provides exemptions for CUSMA-compliant goods. Economists tracking the file have monitored cumulative impacts on cross-border supply chains that stretch across the integrated North American market.
