President Donald Trump announced that the United States will levy a 50 percent tariff on a range of Canadian products, including hockey sticks, wine and cement, beginning on August 19. The administration says the duties are a response to what it describes as retaliatory restrictions that Canada has placed on American goods.
A rarely used clause of the 1930 Tariff Act
The administration invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a provision that has never before been applied to impose duties of up to half a product’s value when foreign markets discriminate against U.S. commerce. By using this clause, the White House hopes to bypass the legal constraints that blocked its earlier sweeping tariffs.
The move comes after the Supreme Court struck down the administration’s previous tariffs, which had been enacted under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act. The court also ordered the refund of roughly $166 billion in duties that importers had paid under those now‑invalidated measures.
Diplomatic encounter at the World Cup
Trump met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the FIFA World Cup trophy ceremony in East Rutherford, New Jersey, but the two leaders did not discuss the new tariffs. The brief interaction highlighted the strained relationship between the United States and Canada while both governments navigate a complex trade dispute.
Since the court decision, the White House has pursued alternative routes to impose trade duties, including a temporary 10 percent base tariff on all imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. That measure is currently under litigation in trade court, underscoring the ongoing legal battle over the administration’s trade strategy.