President Trump announced 50% tariffs on more than 500 Canadian goods on July 21, covering everything from dairy and wine to cement, furniture, and hockey sticks. The move represents approximately $20 billion in affected trade, or roughly 2% of the $720 billion in annual goods flowing between the US and Canada.
Trump is invoking a nearly century-old legal provision to impose these tariffs against a deal he personally negotiated. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was quick to call the tariffs a “direct violation” of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
What actually happened
Carney confirmed he spoke with Trump by phone on the same day the tariffs were announced. The Canadian PM said his government remains open to dialogue and plans to intensify negotiations in the coming weeks. He also made clear that all response options remain on the table.
The invocation of a decades-old trade law to bypass the USMCA framework is the part that has trade lawyers reaching for their blood pressure medication. Trump negotiated the USMCA himself during his first term as a replacement for NAFTA, selling it as a better deal for American workers.
