US pressures Canada with 50% additional tariffs as negotiations intensify to avert April 19 activation
GeopoliticsMacro Impact 4
With April 19 approaching, the date the Trump administration is set to impose 50% additional tariffs on Canadian products, the United States is pressuring Canada to lift restrictions by several provinces on sales of American liquor and to further open its dairy market. Canada is demanding not only that the US avoid imposing new tariffs, but also that it lower tariffs on specific sectors such as steel, aluminum, and automobiles, yet negotiations are proving difficult. Canadian Prime Minister Carney said on April 17 that talks with the United States are tense and that he plans to speak with President Trump before the deadline. The US administration announced on March 20 that it would impose 50% additional tariffs on a wide range of items imported from Canada, including food and industrial products, a scale that Reuters reports accounts for about 5% of all Canadian imports. The US government is asking Canadian provinces that shut out American whiskey and wine after bilateral relations deteriorated to end their sales restrictions, but the provinces are reluctant.
