OTTAWA — President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with Canada again Monday, this time threatening to hike tariffs on all vehicles, auto parts and steel from Canada to 50 per cent on Jan. 1. Trump took to Truth Social to lash out at Canada three days after trade talks broke down in Washington and Canada accused the U.S. of negotiating in bad faith. As a result, new 50 per cent tariffs took effect Saturday on a range of Canadian goods, including honey, hockey sticks, flower bulbs and a long list of alcoholic beverages. The new threat of tariffs for Jan. 1 would build on existing tariffs on the auto and steel sector, and are separate from the tariffs applied on Saturday. In his post Monday, Trump accused Canada — without presenting evidence — as being “among the worst nations in the world to deal with.” “Build in the U.S. and there are ZERO TARIFFS. Canada will be treated like a State no longer!” Trump posted. “Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years. Their ridiculously high tariffs on our Farmers and farm products has made life impossible for these great American Patriots.” The United States Department of Agriculture says the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, known as CUSMA, provides for “tariff- and quota-free trade for almost all agricultural products traded between the United States and Canada, while offering broader market opportunities for U.S. exports to Canada of dairy, poultry and egg products.” It notes those provisions were also in the North American Free Trade Agreement, which CUSMA replaced. “They feel entitled, and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!” Trump posted. Canadian exports to the United States represented 72 per cent of all exports in 2025, down four percentage points from the year before. In the first six months of 2026, that number fell further to 68 per cent, while non-U.S. exports rose as Canada moved to diversify its trade away from its largest trading partner south of the border. Vehicles made in Canada are currently tariffed at 25 per cent, minus U.S. content in them. Trump has, so far, held off on imposing tariffs on auto parts. “We’ve been over this. The ‘importer of record’ pays the tariffs,” said Flavio Volpe, president of the The Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association of Canada, in a post on X. “A threatened U.S. tariff on Canadian auto parts will be paid by U.S. auto assembly. Without those specific parts, auto assembly throughout the U.S. would halt. U.S. auto assembly will be on the phone to the (White House) today.” Trump’s threat to hike tariffs to 50 per cent comes days after the U.S. imposed 50 per cent tariffs on a host of other Canadian goods, after trade talks between the two countries broke down. On Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the U.S. of trying to introduce last-minute measures which could have restricted Canada’s ability to do deals with other countries. Carney promised to retaliate on the latest tariffs the U.S. imposed on Saturday, with dollar-for-dollar tariffs by Sept. 8. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2026. Nick Murray, The Canadian Press
