Canada hits back with new counter tariffs on US goods
"We will support our workers, our businesses and our industries with whatever it takes, for as long as it takes," Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said on Tuesday.
Published on 25/08/2026 - 17:46 GMT+2
Canada has unveiled a series of counter tariffs on US goods as a growing trade war between Ottawa and Washington ramps up.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada would respond to newly imposed US duties in a "proportionate, targeted, and strategic way," matching Washington's levies "dollar for dollar, rate for rate."
"Effective September 8, Canada will impose counter tariffs of up to 15, 25, or 50% on C$27.6 billion in imports from the United States of America," he said.
The move comes after hefty 50% US duties impacting around C$28 billion (€17 billion) worth of Canadian goods came into effect on Saturday, following a break down in trade talks between the two countries.
Champagne, who also announced an aid package for Canadian workers and businesses totalling C$7.5 billion (€4.6 billion), said Canada had been forced to abandon the negotiations as the terms proposed by the Trump administration were "uneconomic, unfair, and ultimately unacceptable."
He also described the burgeoning tariff war as an "unprecedented challenge imposed on Canada" but said the nation would "meet the moment."
"We will support our workers, our businesses and our industries with whatever it takes, for as long as it takes," he added.
US President Donald Trump on Monday also threatened to double tariffs on Canadian vehicles from 2027 as he accused Ottawa of "ripping off the United States of America for years."
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump wrote: "On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%."
Current US tariff rates on automobiles stand at 25% for non-US content.
