by Brett Rowland
President Donald Trump imposed the tariffs under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the Depression-era Smoot-Hawley law, after last-ditch talks collapsed late Friday. The duties cover about $20 billion in Canadian goods, from wine to hockey sticks to cement.
The 50% U.S. tariffs on Canadian cars, dairy and alcohol took effect early Saturday, and Canada immediately moved to match them, with no federal estimate of what Americans will pay.
President Donald Trump imposed the tariffs under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the Depression-era Smoot-Hawley law, after last-ditch talks collapsed late Friday. The duties cover about $20 billion in Canadian goods, from wine to hockey sticks to cement.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he suspended negotiations and recalled Canada's negotiators, and that Canada would "match those tariffs dollar for dollar."
The two sides blamed each other. Carney said "last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal." The U.S. Trade Representative's office said Canada "declined to finalize the trade deal," walking back commitments after Washington offered "significant tariff reductions on steel, aluminum, autos, and lumber" and the "best treatment of any major exporter to our market."
Neither government has said what the tariffs will cost. The White House detailed the harm it says Canada's trade barriers did to U.S. exporters, a roughly 22% drop in U.S. vehicle exports, from about $25.9 billion to $20.3 billion, and an 81% decline in alcohol sales. However, the U.S. has published no estimate of what the 50% duties will cost the U.S. importers who pay them or the consumers who may bear the price. The tariffs do not apply to energy, potash, fish, critical minerals or goods already covered by Section 232.
Section 338, a provision of the 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariff law, had never been used to impose tariffs before this year. It lets the president levy duties of up to 50% on countries found to discriminate against U.S. commerce, requires no investigation and sets no limit on how long the tariffs stay in place.
Trump turned to it after the Supreme Court in February struck down his earlier tariffs, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and ordered the government to refund about $166 billion to importers.
The dispute puts the North American trade pact in doubt. The Section 338 tariffs apply regardless of whether goods qualify under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and while the U.S. has begun talks with Mexico on renewing the deal, negotiations with Canada have not started. Carney said Canada would announce additional support for its workers and businesses in the coming days.
Brett Rowland
Source: https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/canada-tariffs-take-effect-50-ottawa-vows-match
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