US President Donald Trump spoke after signing an executive order to drastically shrink two national monuments in Utah, paving the way for fossil fuel extraction and mining.
Saul Loeb AFP | getty images
The United States is imposing an additional 50% tariff on Canadian goods in response to alleged trade discrimination against several American products and industries, senior Trump administration officials said Monday.
President Donald Trump signed three proclamations on Monday aimed at imposing steep tariffs on different sets of Canadian imports in response to individual sectors where the US says it has experienced discrimination, officials said in a call with reporters.
One of the officials said, “By doing this, President Trump is providing a level playing field for important American exports: motor vehicles, wine and dairy.”
According to officials, the tariffs, which fall under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, are set to take effect 30 days after signing.
Each proclamation imposes tariffs on a variety of Canadian products, “from wine to hockey sticks to cement,” said an official on the call.
One official said, “Canada must be held accountable for this continued discrimination.”
Canada’s standing as a longtime close ally and trading partner of the U.S. has deteriorated amid Trump’s tariff-heavy agenda and vocal displeasure over the country’s trilateral trade agreement with Mexico, among other sources of tension.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it would not renew the trade agreement, known as USMCA, instead choosing to cast doubt on the pact’s future by launching a series of annual reviews.
And last week, Trump criticized Canada over wildfires in northwestern Ontario that have caused major air pollution problems across much of the United States.
Claiming that the issue has cost the US billions of dollars, Trump wrote on Truth Social that those costs “should be added to the tariffs being paid by Canada as necessary.”
One of the senior officials on Monday’s call specified that the recently announced 50% tariffs on Canadian goods are not wildfire-related — but added that Trump “has asked for options on that.”
The Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the new US trade actions.
Section 338 gives the President the power to impose tariffs of up to 50% on goods from countries that discriminate against the US.
John Veroneau and Katherine Gibson of the law firm Covington & Burling LLP wrote in 2016 that the vague tariff-setting authority “has gone unused for decades”. Article. They could not find any public records related to Section 338 since 1949.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.