(LifeSiteNews) – U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday an immediate halt to trade negotiations with Canada, citing frustration with Canadian tariffs on U.S. dairy products and its newly-enacted digital services tax.
Starting June 28, Canada’s digital services tax imposes a 3 percent tax on revenue from “[c]ertain digital services that rely on engagement, data, and content contributions of Canadian users” and “[c]ertain sales or licensing of Canadian user data.”
The Albany Times Union notes that the tax would apply to companies such as Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber, and Airbnb, but most critically from an American perspective “will apply retroactively, leaving U.S. companies with a $2 billion U.S. bill due at the end of the month.”
On Friday afternoon, Trump took to Truth Social to declare, “We have just been informed that Canada, a very difficult Country to TRADE with, including the fact that they have charged our Farmers as much as 400% Tariffs, for years, on Dairy Products, has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American Technology Companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our Country.”
“They are obviously copying the European Union, which has done the same thing, and is currently under discussion with us, also,” the president continued. “Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately. We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
🚨 HUGE: Trump announces IMMEDIATE END to trade negotiations with Canada’s. Tariffs to be announced within 7 days.
📸 Screenshot says it all 👇 pic.twitter.com/v0SefdB2MM— John-Henry Westen (@JhWesten) June 27, 2025
The United States currently imposes a 25 percent tariff on goods deemed not compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the trade agreement Trump negotiated in his first term to replace NAFTA; a 10 percent tariff on USMCA non-compliant energy products; and a 10 percent tariff on USMCA non-compliant potash.
Politico reports that Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had previously set a July 16 deadline for a new trade agreement, under which it was hoped that existing tariffs would be lifted. Instead, onlookers are now bracing to see what new tariff rates will be.
The tariffs on Canada are part of the Trump administration’s broader series of varying tariffs on most other nations (which have been adjusted, lifted, and delayed at various points over the past several months). Supporters say the trade war is necessary to make international trade fairer and spur a return of domestic manufacturing; opponents argue they increase costs on American consumers and small businesses.
