President Donald Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods on Monday, July 20, 2026, just one day after he sat beside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The White House said that the new tariffs target autos, alcohol and dairy products, citing what officials described as Canada’s discriminatory trade practices. They will affect nearly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods entering the United States.
United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in an official statement, defended the tariffs, saying Canada had repeatedly retaliated against U.S. efforts to rebalance trade and protect American industries.
“Specifically, Canada has taken U.S. alcohol products off Canadian shelves, given better market access to dairy products from the European Union and has put a cap on U.S. vehicle exports to Canada from companies reshoring to the United States,” the statement read.
“Today, President Trump took decisive action to hold Canada accountable for its retaliation and discrimination, delivering on his promise to correct trade imbalances and ensure fairness for American workers, farmers and businesses,” it continued.
Carney responded in a statement that read, “Canada has made a series of detailed and comprehensive proposals to resolve this dispute and to modernize CUSMA. We stand ready to intensify those discussions in the coming weeks…This trade dispute has raised costs for families, particularly in the U.S.”
“This is the latest in a series of unilateral US trade actions that began with the US imposing a series of tariffs in direct violation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), the free trade agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico,” he added.
A senior administration official said the meeting between the two leaders at the World Cup final was never intended to be a trade discussion, adding that Trump gave Carney no indication the tariffs were coming.
Trump and Carney watched Sunday’s final between Spain and Argentina from a VIP box at MetLife Stadium, where Spain won 1-0 in extra time on a goal from Ferran Torres. The two leaders were photographed chatting during the match and later took part in the medal ceremony.
He later spoke to reporters about his relationship with Carney, noting, “I have a good relationship with Mark Carney, but, you know, we got to stop the fires up there. If we can help them, we’ll help them. But maybe they should pay us some damages or something or we should do some tariffs.”
Less than 24 hours later, the president signed three proclamations invoking Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a Depression-era law that lets a president impose duties as high as 50 percent on countries deemed to unfairly target American goods.
According to the BBC, the new tariffs affect everyday consumer goods, including wine and hockey sticks, as well as industrial products such as cement. Energy products, potash, fish and critical minerals are exempt from the increase.