Ottawa released a list of more than 700 targets Tuesday. Starting Sept. 8, Canada’s government says it will impose steeper import taxes on goods ranging from fish and cheese to smartphones and steel imported from the United States.
Canada said it was focusing its retaliation on products “most affected by U.S. tariffs.” The levies will be set at 15%, 25% or 50% — rates that the government said would match U.S. tariffs on goods targeted in Washington’s latest round as well as products covered by previously imposed sectoral duties.
Tuesday’s announcement came just days after the Trump administration’s 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods, ranging from honey to hockey sticks, took effect. That represents just 5% of the value of goods Canada sent to the U.S. last year, but the punishing rate comes on top of a series of tariffs Trump has imposed on the country during his second term in office. More threats of escalation have piled up in the meantime. As a result, businesses—and, by extension, households—on both sides of the border could soon feel the strain of even higher prices.
Here’s a recap of some of the affected products.
Canada details retaliation plans for U.S. steel, fish and more
Canada plans to impose steeper tariffs on hundreds of U.S. products starting Sept. 8.
Many of the goods are highly specific and mirror products on which Washington began imposing 50% tariffs over the weekend. The list also includes products made of steel and aluminum, which already face a 50% U.S. sectorial tariff on most imports globally, although some goods qualify for lower duties under an adjustment rolled out by the White House earlier this year.
Some of the many U.S. items Canada is now targeting include:
1. Live and frozen fish, crustaceans, oysters and mussels
2. Cheese and curd products
3. Natural honey, molasses and baking mixtures
4. Perfume, makeup and hair preparations
5. Carpets and other floor coverings
6. Toilet paper, facial tissues and envelopes
7. T-shirts, jackets, coats and gloves
8. Various metal products made of steel or aluminum, including wire, rods, pipes and foil
9. Stoves, ranges, refrigerators and other household appliances
10. Smartphones and video game consoles
11. Motorcycles and trailers
12. Fishing rods and exercise equipment
The new tariffs on these products will carry rates of 15%, 25% or 50%. Canada’s tariffs on many American products would double from 25% to 50%, with the largest share of the new measures affecting steel and aluminum.
U.S. already slapped a long list of Canadian goods with new tariffs
The Trump administration already outlined its own lengthy list of more than 550 Canadian products that are now subject to 50% tariffs. That list includes natural honey, vegetable seeds and flower bulbs; alcoholic beverages such as beer and vermouth; ice skates and other sports accessories; various household goods; and smartphones.
Trump imposed the tariffs by reaching back to a long-dormant Great Depression-era law. Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which has never been used before, authorizes the president to impose import taxes of up to 50% on goods from countries that have discriminated against U.S. businesses.
