Canada-US trade talks collapsed after the US imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian goods. Prime Minister Carney announced matching retaliatory tariffs starting September 8, citing unfair demands that threatened Canadian sovereignty.
OTTAWA鈥擳he nearly two-year waltz over trade, including a review of CUSMA (the free trade deal between Canada and the United States), came to an abrupt end last week as Canada left the dance floor citing the last-minute demands by its American dance partner.
Canada and the US have circled one another in an on-again, off-again trade standoff that saw the US president dust off centuries-old US laws in order to implement tariffs on Canada鈥檚 aluminum, steel and other products. This past weekend, that cycle produced its most dramatic turn yet, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called his negotiators home and both governments announced steep new tariffs on each other鈥檚 goods.
The breakdown in talks came after roughly two weeks of intensive negotiations in Washington, capped by three straight days of meetings between Canadian trade minister Dominic LeBlanc and US trade representative Jamieson Greer. As recently as Thursday, Minister LeBlanc told reporters the two sides were 鈥渧ery close鈥 to getting a deal done鈥攁nd on Friday afternoon, US President Donald Trump told reporters negotiators had 鈥減retty much鈥 struck a deal.
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