Carney ends US trade talks, announces dollar-for-dollar tariffs on American goods

Canada has walked away from trade negotiations with the United States and will hit US products with matching tariffs, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Saturday. The decision sharply escalates tensions between the two countries.

Carney said Canada could not accept the terms Washington was offering or the concessions it was demanding. He spoke via his X account after ordering Canadian negotiators to return to Ottawa late Friday.

Breakdown in talks

Carney said Canada had spent more than a year negotiating a new comprehensive trade agreement with the United States, describing Ottawa's approach as pragmatic, patient and persistent. He said the goal was the best possible deal for Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses, not a deal at any cost.

“We cannot accept what the United States is offering us, and we refuse to grant them what they are asking of us,” Carney said. He added that Canada would apply equivalent duties, “dollar for dollar,” to those imposed by the US.

The new tariff measures will take effect on September 8, 2026, the Tuesday after Labour Day. The Canadian government is expected to unveil details in the coming days and will also introduce additional support for Canadian workers and businesses hit by US tariffs.

Backstory of the tariffs

The collapse follows Washington's decision to impose 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, effective Saturday, according to Reuters. The duties cover wine, dairy, furniture, electrical equipment and hockey equipment, as well as some goods previously covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Disagreements over steel, aluminium, automobiles, softwood lumber and other measures prevented a deal, despite progress earlier in the week. The new tariffs affect about 5% of Canada's exports to the US and have raised uncertainty for cross-border businesses.

In March 2025, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada had imposed 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of US imports. That came after the US implemented 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico and increased levies on Chinese goods.

Trudeau said $30 billion worth of goods would be targeted immediately, with the remaining $125 billion to follow in 21 days. President Donald Trump's administration justified the tariffs as a way to protect American jobs and manufacturing while addressing illegal migration and drug trafficking. Trump's team called the tariffs a key negotiating tool, citing the need to combat the opioid crisis, especially fentanyl influx. Trudeau countered that less than 1% of fentanyl intercepted at the US border came from Canada, calling the tariffs unjustified.

What it means for Nigeria

The Canada-US dispute comes as Washington reshapes its global trade policy, with Nigeria also facing new US import duties. In July 2026, the US placed Nigeria under a 12.5% tariff regime covering most imports, though crude oil, LNG, other petroleum products and some food items are exempt.

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise says the exempted petroleum products account for more than 80% of Nigeria's merchandise exports to the US, limiting the immediate impact. But non-oil exporters in agriculture and manufacturing could face reduced competitiveness.

Nigeria's exports to the US accounted for 5.56% of its N21.6 trillion total exports in the first quarter of 2026. The US was Nigeria's fifth-largest export destination during the period.