President Trump slapped tariffs of 50% on some Canadian goods Monday, just days after threatening to punish the country for allowing heavy wildfire smoke to drift into the United States.
“Our air has been poisoned,” Trump said Sunday, referring to the Canadian wildfire smoke. “[M]aybe they should pay us some damages or something, or we should do some tariffs.”
Although Trump’s remarks suggest there is a connection between the wildfires and the tariffs announced today, the Trump administration is framing them as a response to “discriminatory” trade measures put in place by Canada against American motor vehicles, dairy and alcohol. An administration official said the Canadian products affected by the new tariffs range from “wine to hockey sticks to cement.”
“Over the past year, Canada has retained substantial retaliation against the United States as the U.S. imposes trade actions to reindustrialize, reshore, and support its manufacturing,” the administration official said. “Specifically, Canada has to be held accountable for this continued discrimination.”
The tariffs are being imposed under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and will take effect in 30 days, The Hill reports. There are no exceptions for goods covered by the current United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.