Trump Announces 50% Tariff on Canadian Cars

The new tariff follows an earlier 50% tax on about $20bn of Canadian exports, from hockey sticks to tongue depressors. Jamieson Greer, the United States Trade Representative, said Canada had gone back on promises made only days before, and that the measures protected American workers and supply chains. Carney disagreed, saying Washington asked too much and offered too little. The effect is easiest to see in a single car. From January, a car built in Ontario and sent to an American dealer will face a 50% charge at the border. The importer pays that money, not the Canadian factory, and the cost usually reaches the buyer.

Canada's own measures will target steel, dairy products, appliances, farm equipment, electronics and paper. Energy is not on the list for now, but Ontario Premier Doug Ford said an energy surcharge was still on the table. That matters, because Canada supplies most American natural gas and electricity imports and about 60% of its crude oil imports. Earlier government action has already hurt: bans on American alcohol in most provincial liquor stores cut wine exports to Canada by 78%. The Yale Budget Lab calculates that Trump's global tariffs will cost American households about $1,100 a year.