US targets Canada with 50% tariffs on $20b in imports

If you thought tariffs were so 2025, well, we’ve got news for you.

On July 20, President Donald Trump announced 50% tariffs on more than 500 Canadian imports, to go into effect on August 19. The tariffs will be levied on about $20 billion worth of goods—everything from cement, clothing, and furniture to wigs, wine, hockey equipment, and fishing rods. They represent roughly 5% of the approximately $382 billion in Canadian goods the US imported last year, Reuters reported.

Blame Canada. The Trump administration is imposing the new tariffs in response to what it views as Canada’s discriminatory practices against American alcohol, dairy, and automobile industries. Canadian imports of US vehicles are down 22% from last year and its imports of American liquor have dropped 81%, according to the White House, Reuters reported. (As for dairy? “The administration says Canada has taken protectionist measures on cheese,” the BBC observed.)

When the US placed duties on imports from many countries in 2025, Canada was one of the few nations to retaliate, levying 25% tariffs on $22 billion worth of US goods. The new tariffs are “a natural consequence of the Canadian retaliation,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said, per CNN.

Anyone? Bueller? As legal grounds for the tariffs, the Trump administration cited Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which allows the US to tariff countries that discriminate against American producers. The law has never been invoked in its nearly 100-year history. “It is ironic, to say the least, to use this authority to impose tariffs to retaliate against tariffs that were imposed in response to actions taken by the US,” former US trade official John Veroneau told Reuters.

Many of the goods hit by the new tariffs were covered by the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA), the successor to NAFTA that became active in 2020. On July 1, Trump declined to extend the USMCA in its current form. The US and Mexico have begun a third round of talks to discuss the trade pact—once again, not including Canada.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine told Politico on Tuesday that the new tariffs particularly harm her state. “Maine and Canada’s economies are very intertwined. A lot of our blueberries, our potatoes, our lobster, our lumber are harvested in Maine, processed in Canada and then come back. I don’t want to see the tariffs on the books.”

But the new tariffs may not be a sure thing. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he spoke with Trump and planned to negotiate more intensely over the coming weeks, and pundits believe lawsuits are likely if the tariffs do go forward, the New York Times reported.

Then again, if the administration successfully uses Section 338 to increase tariffs on Canada, other countries could be next, CNN opined.