Trump wins again: Canada caves, unilaterally drops retaliatory tariffs

Posted on by Constitutional Nobody

Canada has announced its intention to drop most of the retaliatory counter-tariffs it’d imposed in March.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Friday that starting Sept. 1, Canada will remove the 25 percent tariff it imposed on many U.S. goods, excluding steel and aluminum.

“I’m announcing today that the Canadian government will now match the United States by removing all of Canada’s tariffs on U.S. goods, specifically covered under [the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement],” he said.

He attributed this development to the Trump administration’s recent decision to reaffirm its commitment to the trade agreement, known more commonly as USMCA.

“In a positive development, earlier this month, the United States reaffirmed a core commitment to our free trade agreement … by reinforcing that those Canadian exports to the United States that are compliant with [it] will not be subject to U.S. IEEPA tariffs,” he said.

“As a result, the actual U.S. average tariff rate on Canadian goods is 5.6% and remains the lowest among all its trading partners, and more than 85% of Canada-U.S. trade is now tariff-free,” he added.

Trump supporters celebrated the announcement by claiming that Carney had effectively caved to the U.S.:

The announcement was also celebrated by Kentucky’s bourbon industry.

“We applaud Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to restore reciprocal zero-to-zero tariffs for Kentucky Bourbon and many other remaining goods covered under the USMCA,” Kentucky Distillers’ Association President Eric Gregory said in a statement.

“We hope this action will jump start negotiations on a permanent trade deal, benefiting both American businesses and Canadian consumers seeking to enjoy America’s only native spirit,” he added.

The announcement came after a phone call between Carney and President Donald Trump. It was the first call between the two men “since failed talks before the Aug. 1 tariff deadline,” according to CNBC.

“A readout of the Thursday call from Carney’s office called the conversation ‘productive and wide-ranging,’ with both leaders agreeing to reconvene soon,” CNBC notes.

All this comes despite Trump having last month raised tariffs by a whopping 35 percent on non-USMCA-compliant Canadian goods. The raise came in response to Canada allegedly not doing enough to curb the flow of fentanyl across its border.

“Canada has failed to cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, and it has retaliated against the United States for the President’s actions to address this unusual and extraordinary threat to the United States,” the White House said in a fact sheet.

“In response to Canada’s continued inaction and retaliation, President Trump has found it necessary to increase the tariff on Canada from 25% to 35% to effectively address the existing emergency,” the fact sheet continued.

The latest concession or cave from Canada comes months after President Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods. Then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau immediately responded with retaliatory tariffs.

The irony is that Carney won the election afterward by promising to stand up to President Trump. Some Canadians are now incensed at him for seemingly doing the very opposite.

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Author: Vivek Saxena

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