Canada and the US were once great friends, allies and trading partners. They had disagreements on various domestic and international matters, wars and military conflicts. They didn’t always see eye-to-eye on trade negotiations related to the auto sector, acid rain, softwood lumber and more. Nevertheless, the two countries always found a way to return to the same page.
Yet this historic and economic relationship has now been torn apart. Canada and the US are engulfed in a full-fledged trade war, and there’s no end in sight.
Canada and the US are engulfed in a full-fledged trade war, and there’s no end in sight
There have been tensions between the two countries since Donald Trump was elected US President. Trump engaged in a tariff war over steel and aluminium products with the then-Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2018. Things escalated once more in 2024 when Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico just before he returned to the White House.
The latest tariff battle has been the worst by far. Trump has announced 50 per cent tariffs on an assortment of Canadian goods – including down jackets, wine, agriculture products and, of all things, hockey sticks. Most of these items had been previously exempt from tariffs because they were traded under the umbrella of the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement. Trump had other ideas (or whims, as the case may be). A last-ditch attempt by American and Canadian negotiators to avoid Trump’s tariff wrath collapsed on August 21.
