{"id":1933,"date":"2026-07-21T19:38:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1933"},"modified":"2026-07-21T19:38:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:38:55","slug":"what-to-know-about-the-50-tariffs-trump-is-imposing-on-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1933","title":{"rendered":"What to know about the 50% tariffs Trump is imposing on Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump has reached back to the Great Depression for an obscure trade weapon he can use to wallop Canada again.<\/p>\n

Read more A new threat by Yemen\u2019s Houthis could widen the Iran war and put another trade chokepoint at risk<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump on Monday announced 50% tariffs<\/span> on some Canadian products, ratcheting up tensions with one of the closest U.S. allies.<\/p>\n

The move threatens to push prices higher at a time when Americans are already frustrated with the high cost of living ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. It\u2019s also unclear whether Trump\u2019s latest tariffs would survive a legal challenge.<\/p>\n

Tariffs are taxes on foreign products. They\u2019re paid by importers in the United States who often pass the costs along to consumers in the form of higher prices.<\/p>\n

Trump punishes Canada for its retaliatory tariffs<\/h2>\n

Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose 50% tariffs on Canadian products ranging from hockey sticks to beer. <\/p>\n

In proclamations issued Monday, Trump claimed that Canada discriminates against American exports of autos, alcohol and cheese. He is angry over Canada\u2019s retaliation against his own tariffs last year, which were imposed under the pretext that Canada should do more to stop fentanyl smuggling.<\/p>\n

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The president has repeatedly sparred with his northern neighbor, declaring that Canada should be the 51st U.S. state and threatening tariffs over wildfires that have sent heavy smoke wafting over to the United States. His taunts, threats and trade sanctions have enraged Canadians and led to boycotts of American goods. Most Canadian provinces, for instance, have banned the sale of alcoholic beverages from the United States.<\/p>\n

The U.S. is renegotiating a trade pact \u2014 the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement<\/span>. And the threat of Section 338 tariffs, set to take effect Aug. 19, gives the United States leverage to seek concessions from Ottawa.<\/p>\n

Section 338 is \u2018completely untested\u2019<\/h2>\n

Nearly a century ago, with the U.S. and world economies in collapse, Congress passed the Tariff Act of 1930, imposing hefty taxes on imports. Known as the Smoot-Hawley tariffs, they are notorious among economists and historians for limiting world commerce and making the Great Depression worse. They made a memorable cameo<\/span> in the 1986 movie \u201cFerris Bueller\u2019s Day Off.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Section 338 of the law authorizes the president to impose tariffs of up to 50% on imports from countries that have discriminated against U.S. businesses. No investigation is required. Nor is there any limit on how long the tariffs can stay in place.<\/p>\n

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Section 338 tariffs have never been imposed. U.S. trade negotiators traditionally have favored another tool, Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 \u2014 though the United States used the threat of Section 338 levies as a bargaining chip in trade talks in the 1930s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s completely untested,\u201d said trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a former U.S. trade official. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of hard to believe it\u2019s been on the books for 100 years.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

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