Canada Will Match US Tariffs Dollar for Dollar From September 8

Three days of negotiations in Washington ended without an agreement, and the United States imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20bn of Canadian goods. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said late changes to the American terms were unfair and uneconomical, and he questioned whether any deal with Washington could be relied on. He has promised matching duties from September 8, covering steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp, paper and electronics. Reporting on the breakdown points to trucks as one sticking point, with Washington willing to settle on cars while Ottawa sought relief for heavy vehicles.

The cost of the tariffs is most visible far from the two governments involved in the dispute. The Financial Times reports that Swiss exporters, who spent decades competing on quality rather than price, now face American tariffs and a strong franc at the same time. A currency that strengthens because investors are seeking safety works as a tax on manufacturers who earn revenue in weaker currencies.

Trade in services, which cannot be shipped in containers, is moving in the opposite direction. Antara reports that members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum agreed measures to cut barriers in services trade, including rules affecting digital services and cross-border data flows.

The pattern of the past year is consistent. Trade in physical goods keeps splitting into separate bilateral deals enforced by tariff schedules, while trade in services and data keeps opening up around them.