US President Donald Trump has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on a wide range of goods imported from Canada, in retaliation for what he called “unequal treatment” of US cars, dairy and alcohol.

Everyday consumer items like wine and hockey sticks and industrial goods such as cement are among the goods targeted. However, several key exports will be spared, such as energy, potash, critical minerals and fish.

Prime Minister Mark Carney responded by saying Canada stood ready to “intensify” trade talks with the US in the coming weeks.

The White House said the duties would take effect in 30 days. It marks a major escalation in trade tensions between the North American neighbours.

These tensions have been simmering since Trump returned to office in January 2025 and unleashed a wide-ranging global programme of tariffs, sometimes to pursue objectives not directly linked to trade.

Tariffs are taxes on imported goods that are paid to the government by companies bringing in the foreign products.

The US Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that many of Trump’s tariffs imposed globally under emergency powers were illegally enacted.

But Trump has recently sought other legal avenues through which to enact his agenda, and his latest action on Monday night uses a different, obscure law that is untested in court.

Canada, which is one of the US’s closest trading partners, was one of the few countries to retaliate last year against Trump’s tariffs.

It placed a 25 per cent levy of its own on about C$30bn (£16bn; $21.7bn / Ksh2.81 trillion) worth of US goods being brought into Canada. Carney later dropped some of them.

A White House fact sheet published on Monday discussing the new tariffs said they applied regardless of whether the product was included under the existing free trade agreement between Canada, the US and Mexico, known as the USMCA.

The new tariffs add to trade barriers already in place between the two nations.

The US has been maintaining active tariffs ranging from 15 per cent to 50 per cent on Canadian steel, aluminium and copper. It also charges a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian softwood lumber, alongside a 25 per cent tax on non-US parts in cars.

Meanwhile Canada has its own 25 per cent counter-tariff on selected imports of American steel, aluminium and vehicles.

Monday’s announcement also comes in the wake of President Trump’s threat to impose tariffs over Canadian wildfire smoke drifting into US cities, though this issue has not been officially mentioned as the justification for the move.

Criticism of Trump’s action has started to arrive from the Canadian side.

“This is the latest in a series of unilateral US trade actions that began with the US imposing a series of tariffs in direct violation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement,” Carney said in a statement on X.

Carney also cited “threats to Canadian sovereignty”, possibly in reference to Trump’s repeated calls to make America’s northern neighbour the 51st US state.

In a post of his own on X, Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote: “If these tariffs proceed, Canada should respond tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar.”

The BBC has contacted the White House and the Canadian government for further comment.

Trump names three trade complaints

As part of his executive action announcing the new tariffs, Trump issued three proclamations.

These list US complaints over trade issues that were previously known to Canada – signalling a breakdown of trade negotiations between the two neighbours. They relate to cars, dairy products and alcohol.

On cars, Trump’s proclamation pointed to Canada charging a tax on imports of US motor vehicles and parts that are not covered under USMCA.

He argues it is “unreasonable” and that Canada has discriminated against the US by not charging other countries a similar tax.

Automotive manufacturing in North America is highly integrated between Canada, the US and Mexico.

Dairy, meanwhile, has long been a problem for the US, specifically Canada’s supply management system, which sets limits on foreign imports. Those that exceed the limit are charged a tariff up to 300 per cent.

And lastly, the enduring boycott of US alcoholic drinks by most Canadian provinces has become a major sore point for the Americans since it was imposed last year.

Canadian premiers have said repeatedly that the boycott will be lifted if the US removes its tariffs on key Canadian sectors, including metals and automobiles.

Canadian trade negotiators have been trying to secure a deal that would at least reduce some of the current US tariffs.

Uncertain future of North American trade

Earlier this year, the US chose not to renew the USMCA in its current form.

Canada and Mexico sought a renewal of the trade agreement, but the US wants to make changes to the deal, which was negotiated during Trump’s first term in office.

Despite the US action, however, the treaty will continue to govern North American trade over the next decade on a rolling basis – but it will require annual reviews.

In February, the US Supreme Court struck down sweeping international tariffs imposed by Trump through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977.

Trump had used IEEPA to attempt to justify the imposition of tariffs on dozens of countries beyond America’s neighbours.

The Supreme Court justices ruled that the president had exceeded his authority when he announced the duties under a law reserved for national emergencies.

The White House vowed at the time that it would invoke other mechanisms to impose import taxes.

In recent weeks, for example, Trump has used Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to justify imposing tariffs on a range of countries. These include Brazil, from which certain goods being brought into the US will be subject to a 25% tax from Wednesday. US officials claimed that Brazilian policies had harmed US trade.

Like Canada and China, Brazil has vowed to retaliate.

The tariffs announced on Monday, which are due to hit Canada, are due to be introduced under a different piece of legislation: Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act. The act covers trade discrimination rather than national emergencies.

Michael Devereux, a professor of economics at the University of British Columbia, said the move highlighted the Trump administration’s opposition to USMCA.

He told BBC News: “It is a significant escalation because it directly targets goods that were previously exempt under the US, Canada, Mexico trade agreement that President Trump negotiated and signed himself in 2018.”

Devereux was doubtful that it was a negotiating tactic on the part of the US leader.

“I would rather see this as just an impulsive move that came from kind of a grudge that the US government and President Trump has against Canada.”

Other analysts were hopeful the move might prompt new negotiations.

Candace Laing, head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, urged officials to make “meaningful progress” in talks before the new duties took effect in 30 days’ time.

Chris Swonger, head of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, similarly called for both sides to find a solution, warning the decision “raises the risk of further retaliation”.