US 50% tariffs on selected Canadian goods take effect
The United States has begun applying an additional 50% tariff to selected Canadian-origin goods after the temporary three-day postponement ended without a trade agreement.
- Who this affects
- Businesses supplying affected Canadian-origin goods into the United States.
- What you should do
- Confirm customs origin, the current HTSUS code and the total tariff before shipping.
- Current status
- 22 August 2026
- Last checked
- 22 Aug 2026
- Official source
- Open the primary source ↗
What has happened?
The United States has begun applying an additional 50% tariff to selected Canadian-origin goods after trade talks between the two countries ended without an agreement.
The new duties took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on 22 August 2026. The original start date of 19 August had been postponed for three days to allow further negotiations.
Which goods are affected?
The measures cover around US$20 billion—approximately C$28 billion—of Canadian goods, representing just over 5% of Canada’s annual exports to the US.
This is not a blanket tariff on everything imported from Canada. It applies only to products covered by specific US tariff codes. The affected goods include selected products across categories such as clothing, furniture, dairy, wine, cement and sporting equipment.
The 50% is an additional tariff
The 50% charge is added to other duties that may already apply. For example, a product with an existing 5% duty could potentially face a total tariff of 55%.
What this means for UK businesses
The change does not introduce a new 50% tariff on UK-origin goods sent to the US. A UK seller could still be affected if it supplies Canadian-origin products into the American market.
Businesses should establish the customs origin and correct US tariff classification of each product rather than relying on its country of dispatch.
Canada has announced that it will respond with tariffs of an equal value on US goods.