Trade conflict | Trump is escalating the dispute with Canada with new tariffs

With the new measures, Washington is increasing the pressure on its northern neighbor. Photo: dpa/AP/Gene J. Puskar Washington.  US President Donald Trump has intensified the trade dispute with Canada by taking further steps. In response to Canadian counter-tariffs, Trump issued a decree on Tuesday imposing an import ban on certain Canadian products. He also increased tariffs on other goods from Canada by 50 percent. Counter tariffs imposed by Canada had previously come into force. The trade dispute between neighboring countries escalated after negotiations failed.

The new import ban affects alcoholic beverages and some dairy products such as whey. According to the regulation, it applies from September 29th. According to the presidential decree, the tariff surcharge affects goods such as mattresses, motorboats and golf carts and will therefore be levied from September 15th.

One of the statements accompanying the measures stated that certain Canadian export goods would be exempt from this penalty. However, the list of these products is significantly shorter. It includes, among other things, toilet paper. 

Trump is doing this "to ensure once again that we maintain a level playing field, prevent retaliation and, of course, protect American production," government sources said.

To justify the import ban on alcoholic beverages, Trump referred to what he saw as the "discriminatory" treatment of US spirits in Canada. When the tariffs were imposed, the White House alleged "discriminatory treatment" of alcohol, automobiles and dairy products from the United States by the Canadian government.

The trade dispute between the USA and Canada escalated in August after negotiations failed. A good two weeks ago, US tariffs of 50 percent came into force on, among other things, alcoholic beverages, dairy products, hockey sticks and plywood from Canada. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney then announced counter tariffs.

The counter tariffs imposed by Canada came into force on Tuesday. The surcharges of 15 to 50 percent affect a range of US goods worth a total of $20 billion (17.2 billion euros), including steel and aluminum products as well as dairy products. However, some seafood products were removed from the original list.

After the counter-tariffs came into force, Canada's Prime Minister Carney warned his compatriots that less intensive economic relations with the USA would not come without a price. “We have everything we need to change course and thrive,” Carney said in a video message on Tuesday.

However, this “change of course” comes with a “price”. »Actions always have a price. But this is not nearly as high as the price of the standstill.

After the counter-tariffs came into force, Trump threatened to exclude Canadian products from a US government procurement program. He is directing authorities to "remove products of Canadian origin from GSA's Multiple Award Schedules," he said online, referring to a General Services Administration program for long-term contracts. 

These contracts are worth more than $50 billion (43 billion euros) per year, Trump added. The measure he announced will apply “unless Canada restores full and fair reciprocity for American farmers and companies.” 

On Monday, Trump had already threatened to block the sale of aircraft from the Canadian manufacturer Bombardier in the USA and called on the Quebec-based company to build its aircraft in the USA in the future. “If they want our market, they have to produce here,” Trump wrote on his online service Truth Social.

The Canadian company emphasized that through its activities in the USA it has created tens of thousands of jobs in the neighboring country and spends over 2.5 billion dollars annually with suppliers in the USA. Two Republican senators from Kansas, where the aircraft manufacturer employs more than a thousand people, expressed concern. Senator Jerry Moran said on the online service

In his second term, Trump repeatedly caused irritation with claims to foreign territory. He repeatedly called for Canada to become the 51st US state. Most recently, he caused outrage among his northern neighbor by signing a decree renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” 

The border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of New York runs through Lake Ontario. The body of water is one of the five Great Lakes in North America.  Agencies/nd

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