Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the United States of violating the CUSMA trade agreement after the Trump administration announced a new 50% tariff on a significant number of Canadian products, vowing to intensify talks to resolve the dispute.

Carney stated on Monday that this is the latest in a series of unilateral U.S. trade actions that began with tariff impositions in direct violation of the CUSMA agreement, adding that duties on Canada’s automotive sector also contravene the free trade pact.

Canada has simply matched those measures in response, Carney maintained.

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The prime minister also said Canada has presented detailed and comprehensive proposals to resolve the dispute and modernize CUSMA, expressing readiness to intensify those talks in the coming weeks. Carney defended free trade’s benefits and warned that the dispute has raised costs for families, particularly in the United States.

Canada will continue taking necessary measures to protect its workers, farmers, businesses, and families, while remaining open to negotiating with Washington for mutual benefit, Carney concluded.

My statement on the United States administration’s intention to impose new tariffs on Canadian goods: pic.twitter.com/wl8JtbQjyC

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) July 20, 2026

The new tariffs follow Trump’s allegations that the Canadian government inadequately manages its forests and that smoke from those fires has deteriorated U.S. air quality at an “incalculable” cost.

The White House justified the decision by claiming Canada maintains trade practices considered “harmful” to the United States, including restrictions on U.S. dairy products, high tariffs on agricultural goods, digital services taxes, and retaliatory responses to previous Washington trade measures.

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