U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to impose a 50% tariff on most products imported from Canada, in a move that will come into force within 30 days.
The additional duty comes on top of the tariff regime already in place since February, when Trump imposed a general 10% levy after the courts suspended tariffs introduced under emergency laws.
The new measure maintains exemptions for products such as energy, potash, critical minerals and fish, but extends to some goods that had until now been protected under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Wildfire smoke and trade tensions
The origin of the measure goes back to last Friday, when Trump threatened Canada with new tariffs on his Truth Social account over wildfire smoke that affected parts of the northern and eastern United States during the weekend.
The Republican president accused the Canadian government of failing to properly manage its forests and argued that smoke from the fires had worsened air quality in U.S. territory, causing what he described as an “incalculable” cost.
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However, the White House justified Monday’s decision by claiming that Canada maintains trade practices it considers harmful to the United States. These include restrictions on access for U.S. dairy products, high tariffs on certain agricultural goods and taxes on digital services, as well as Canada’s retaliatory response to previous trade measures adopted by Washington.
Tougher penalties for transshipment
The executive order also tightens sanctions against the transshipment of goods intended to avoid the new tariffs.
According to the text, products diverted through third countries to evade payment of the duty will be subject to an additional 40% tariff.
