US President Donald Trump has abruptly cut off trade talks with Canada in response to its decision to implement a digital services tax targeting American technology companies.
Calling the tax a “blatant attack,” Trump announced that he would impose new tariffs on Canadian goods within the next week, Reuters reported.
The move comes ahead of Canada’s plan to begin collecting the tax starting Monday on major US tech firms, including Amazon, Meta, Google and Apple.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “This is a direct and blatant attack on our country. Canada has always been a very difficult country to trade with.”
“Based on this egregious tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on trade with Canada, effective immediately,” he added. “We will let Canada know the tariff they will be paying to do business with the United States within the next seven-day period.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said trade negotiations would not resume “until they straighten out their act,” emphasizing that the U.S. holds “such power over Canada.”
In response to Trump’s announcement, the office of Canadian Finance Minister stated: “The Canadian government will continue to engage in these complex negotiations with the United States in the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses.”
Meanwhile, in a CNBC interview, White House economic adviser Bessent sought to downplay the dispute, suggesting that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer may open a Section 301 investigation into Canada’s digital tax. Such a probe could pave the way for tariff retaliation equivalent to the estimated $2 billion impact on US firms.
Canada is currently the second-largest US trading partner after Mexico and the top buyer of US exports. Last year, Canada purchased $349.4 billion worth of American goods and exported $412.7 billion to the US, according to data from the US Census Bureau.
sa
Views: 7
