Washington: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the suspension of trade negotiations with the United States, leading to a swift response from the US administration regarding new tariffs on Canadian imports.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Prime Minister Carney declared that Canada would halt trade negotiations with Washington and retaliate with equivalent tariffs. He confirmed that Canadian negotiators have been directed to return to Ottawa, citing unfair last-minute changes proposed by the United States that undermined the credibility of any potential agreement.

A senior official from US President Donald Trump’s administration revealed that tariffs under Section 338, targeting approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, would be implemented at midnight. This decision follows three days of discussions in Washington involving Canada’s Minister for Trade with the United States, Dominic LeBlanc, and US Trade Representative Jamison Greer.

The new tariffs, although impacting a smaller segment of Canadian exports, add to existing US tariffs on steel, lumber, and automobiles. These measures could impede Canada’s economic recovery and influence future negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement between the two countries.

These tariffs are applicable even to Canadian goods that qualify for preferential treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has previously shielded Canadian industries from US tariffs.