As promised, Canada responded to President Trump’s 50% tariffs on a $20 billion basket of Canadian goods by imposing its own tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of U.S.-made goods.
Canadian officials said Tuesday that they would start collecting tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on more than 800 products starting on September 8. The tariffs loosely mirror those imposed by Trump, with the heaviest impact falling on steel and aluminum.
With an eye on the upcoming midterm elections, the tariffs are designed in part to put political pressure on Trump and his Republican party.
“We are picking products that will target states in the U.S.,” said Melanie Joly, Canada's industry minister, per CBS News. “We're being wise and strategic to put political pressure, and that's why we think it's the right thing to do right now.”
Joly also called on Canadians to buy Canadian goods, to protect jobs while launching a “movement of resistance” against Trump’s aggressive acts.
In the United States, the Canadian tariffs will hurt automakers in Michigan, dairy farmers in Wisconsin and lobstermen in Maine – all states that have close political races this fall.
And there could be more problems for American producers ahead. Some economists are skeptical about how effective tariffs can be as a financial lever, but Canada has other cards it can play. U.S. firms could be hurt by an export tax imposed by Canada on key manufacturing inputs such as oil, natural gas, electricity and potash.
“This is a game of cards,” Joly said, per The New York Times. “We know we have a lot of good cards in our hand. And we know not to use them right at the start.”