By Grant Schwab
The Detroit News
(TNS)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday signed orders imposing new 50% tariffs on Canada, according to senior White House officials, just days before the scheduled opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

The move is Trump’s latest escalation of an ongoing trade dispute with the United States’ northern neighbor. Officials said the new action comes in response to retaliatory acts by Canada following the president’s trade actions since he returned to office some 18 months ago. The administration specifically called out retaliations in the automotive, dairy and alcohol sectors.

Even though the new import taxes are partially in response to automotive trade strife between the neighboring nations, the duties will not apply to motor vehicles or any other goods Trump has already tariffed under Section 232 authority. There will also be exemptions for energy, the agricultural fertilizer potash, critical minerals and fish.

The move also comes exactly one week—barring additional delays—before the long-awaited opening of the new Gordie Howe Bridge connecting Michigan to Ontario at one of the continent’s most crucial commercial exchanges. The administration did not comment on whether the new import tax announcement would affect those plans.

Before Trump took office, there were limited U.S. import taxes on Canadian products. He has since levied or threatened to levy tariffs on Canada numerous times—including a 35% blanket tariff rate last year that was later struck down by U.S. courts.

Tariffs have remained in place on Canadian automotive goods. The import tax rate is 25%, but there are partial exemptions based on compliance with the United States-Canada-Mexico free trade agreement.

Canada responded to Trump’s past trade actions on autos by imposing a counter-tariff of 25% on U.S.-made motor vehicles, though it offered an exemption to automakers that maintained their existing production levels in the country.

Prime Minister Mark Carney also inked a new trade deal with China in January that allowed the limited import of Chinese-made electric vehicles—a move that has spooked many in Michigan’s signature auto industry amid crosswinds of inconsistent U.S. government policies on EVs and affordability woes in the new car market.

Senior Trump administration officials said the United States is not in a “trade war” with Canada, but they acknowledged that there are not currently formal negotiations taking place between the two sides in restructuring the USMCA deal that Trump signed during his first term. Trade talks with Mexico, meanwhile, are taking place in Mexico City this week.

Officials also said the tariffs are not related to the Canadian wildfire smoke that drifted into the United States over the past week and severely worsened air quality in Detroit and other major cities.

Trump has faced legal issues in past attempts to issue import taxes on United States trade partners. This latest action, the White House said, will use Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the administration’s top trade official, commented on the new tariffs in a Monday evening statement.

“While the Administration continues to secure fair and reciprocal trade deals with our trading partners, Canada, unlike other partners and allies, continues to retaliate against the United States for its efforts to rebalance trade and protect U.S. industry in national-security sensitive sectors,” Greer said.

He added: “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. 

“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.” 

Photo credit: Anders Krøgh Jørgensen/Unsplash

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©2026 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.

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