Trade talks with Canada collapsed late Friday night, setting in motion steep 50% tariffs on a wide swath of Canadian goods. The duties went into effect at the stroke of midnight.
\n\nAfter weeks of talks, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that while important progress had been made, “that progress has not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians.”
\n\n“As a result, this evening, I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the U.S. and have directed Canada’s negotiators to return to Ottawa,” Carney said in an emailed statement minutes before the deadline.
\n\nThe tariffs impact about $20 billion worth of U.S. imports from Canada, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. The import taxes will hit everything from hockey sticks, to some building materials, liquors and certain kinds of clothing.
\n\nCarney says Canada will immediately retaliate against the U.S. “Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses,” he said.
\n\nThe failure by American and Canadian trade negotiators to reach a deal came after nearly two weeks of furious talks.
\n\nOfficials on both sides had seemed optimistic about a deal up until the very last moment. On Thursday, the Canadian minister responsible for…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/