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The 50 percent tariffs announced Monday by President Donald Trump on all cars, trucks, automotive parts and steel from Canada would crush manufacturers in the United States and raise prices in both countries. The silver lining is that Trump said these import taxes would not take effect until Jan. 1, leaving time for negotiators to disarm an economic land mine.
A bilateral deal appeared close last week before talks broke down at the 11th hour. Neither Trump nor Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to look as if he's succumbing to bullying from the other, so the escalation has been predictable.
Early Saturday, 50 percent U.S. tariffs took effect on Canadian alcohol, cement, hockey equipment and dairy products. Canada vowed to retaliate with "dollar for dollar" reciprocal tariffs set to kick in on Sept. 8.
Overheated rhetoric won't help find an off-ramp. Carney said the U.S. "attacked" Canada and that the neighbors are "at war." On social media, Trump said Canada was "among the worst Nations in the World to deal with."
There's no love lost between Trump and Carney. The prime minister owes his come-from-behind victory in last year's election to the president's saber-rattling. But for the good of their respective countries, both men need to pull back from the brink.
For a generation, the U.S. and Canada offered a case study of the mutual benefits that come from globalization. Free trade led to car parts moving back and forth several times before a completed vehicle hit a showroom floor. The U.S. and Canada share electricity grids. Canada supplied American refineries with more than 4 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024.
The U.S. is Canada's largest export market by far, and Canada is the largest export market for 32 American states. Canada sold $454 billion in goods and services to the U.S. last year, and the U.S. sold $426 billion to Canada.
When Trump announced his "Liberation Day" tariffs last year, China and Canada vocally refused to negotiate unfavorable new deals. But Chinese President Xi Jinping is about to be feted at the White House next month. With Canada, Trump has apparently decided it's easier to punch down than to antagonize another superpower.
This is part of a frustrating pattern: Trump antagonizes America's friends while placating adversaries. Last week, he angered South Korea by scaling back joint military exercises to avoid provoking the dangerous and erratic dictator of North Korea. That came shortly after the president threatened to bomb Oman.
The spat with Canada is another needless provocation. Carney says the old relationship is a relic and will never return. Let's hope he's wrong about that.
Just over two months from the midterm elections, this trade war with Canada could cost the GOP in several House races and Senate battlegrounds, including Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Iowa. Would paying an electoral price for protectionism push Republicans back toward their free-market roots?
As welcome as that would be, it's more important -- for the sake of consumers, workers and businesses on both sides of the border -- to sort out a new trade arrangement before November.
ONLINE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/08/24/trade-spat-with-canada-will-raise-prices-both-sides-border/