President Trump on Sunday weighed in on failed trade talks between the United States and Canada, signaling in an angry, 1 a.m. message on social media that he’s not backing down on the terms that Canadian negotiators walked out on.
“Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!! They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of Tariffs. No more!!!” Mr. Trump posted.
The United States slapped 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports after Canadian leaders cut off trade negotiations late Friday.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told “Fox and Friends Weekend” that no new trade talks are scheduled.
“We’ve said enough, and so we’ve taken countermeasures. Our interest is in protecting American workers and protecting American supply chains,” Mr. Greer said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada will impose dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods beginning Sept. 8. The tariffs will target steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, paper and electronics.
Mr. Carney said during a press conference over the weekend that the negotiations unraveled because U.S. negotiators introduced last-minute changes, among them limitations on Canada’s ability to secure trade deals with other countries.
“We’re the partner of choice in many respects for countries around the world, and the Americans wanted to restrict that. Unacceptable,” Mr. Carney said.
Mr. Carney said U.S. negotiators blindsided them with a change to the proposed auto tariff reductions that would have excluded medium- to heavy-duty trucks. U.S. negotiators also sought to impede Canada’s French-language shows on streaming services and requirements for bilingual labelling on appliances, electronics and instruction manuals the U.S. exports to Canada, Mr. Carney said.
The impasse deepens a trade war that began early in Mr. Trump’s second term.
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The two nations had already imposed tariffs of up to 50% on aluminum, steel and automobiles in addition to longstanding tariffs on lumber.
The new 50% tariffs levied on Canada Saturday will be slapped on products including hockey sticks, wine, cement, honey, cut flowers, vinyl floors, tableware, school supplies, plywood, furniture parts, musical instrument cases and hundreds of other products.
The heightened trade fight is likely to deepen the acrimonious relationship between the Trump administration and the Canadian government.
Mr. Trump initially slapped tariffs on Canadian goods in March 2025 in a bid to close the trade deficit and force Canada to secure its border with the United States. Mr. Trump has long accused Canadians of unfair trade practices that hurt America’s lumber industry and U.S. farmers.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly called on Canada to become America’s 51st state and said Canada would fail to survive without the United States subsidizing it through trade.
The two countries exchanged roughly $880 billion in goods and services last year. Canada is America’s second-largest trading partner after Mexico, but Canada is far more reliant on the United States when it comes to trade.
More than 70% of Canada’s exports are purchased by the United States. About 15% of U.S. exports go to Canada.
The 50% tariffs were originally set to take effect earlier in the week, but Mr. Trump extended the deadline to let talks continue.
Mr. Greer said in a statement that Canada “declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week,” which he described as “the best treatment of any major exporter to our market.”
The worsening trade war with Canada follows an announcement by Mr. Trump that he will waive higher tariffs on ground beef imports, a move aimed at lowering prices for Americans struggling with soaring meat prices.
Under the move, the U.S. will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef into the country for the next 90 days with “no out-of-quota” tariff, Mr. Trump said Friday on social media.
That would temporarily remove higher tariffs triggered when trade volume surpasses a certain quota, according to the World Trade Organization.
Mr. Trump added that his administration has secured commitments to sell beef at 25% less than market value. Ground beef is selling on average at $6.89 per pound.
• Jeff Mordock contributed to this report.
