U.S. and Canada Cancel Trade Deal Over Hockey Gear, Cement, and Dairy Drama
KEY POINTS
- •Trade discussions between the U.S. and Canada collapsed late Friday after last-minute disputes over tariff terms.
- •Trump threatened to slap 50% tariffs on Canadian alcohol, hockey gear, cement, and dairy starting August 25, but delayed them three days for a failed deal.
- •Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to retaliate with equivalent tariffs to protect Canadian businesses amid $376 billion biannual trade.
In a plot twist that even soap operas envy, trade talks between the U.S. and Canada imploded late Friday night after more than a year of Donald Trump threatening to unleash 50% tariffs under Section 338 of the Tariff Act from 1930—a law so unused it’s basically a museum relic. Trump targeted Canadian booze, hockey equipment, cement, and dairy like a kid nabbing Halloween candy, while carving out energy, potash, and critical minerals like some kind of selective Grinch. On August 19, after a dramatic three-day tariff postponement claiming 'deal done,' U.S. Trade Rep Jamieson Greer blamed Canada’s surprise late demands, while Canadian PM Mark Carney fired back on X accusing the U.S. of flipping the script. Then Carney said he’d match tariffs dollar for dollar, turning this into a financial ping pong match over $376 billion in trade—the U.S.’s second-largest partner after Mexico. No word yet on who’s buying the popcorn.
Share the Story
(1 of 3)The U.S. and Canada just turned a $376 billion trade friendship into a slapfight over milk and hockey sticks. It’s like the Cold War but colder, and way more annoying.
Watching Trump revive a 1930 tariff law is like your grandpa trying to pitch TikTok trends—awkward and kinda clueless.
Canada and the U.S. making last-minute tariff threats over booze and cement sounds less like trade talks and more like bitter neighbors fighting over lawn ornaments.
Source: Axios | Published: 8/22/2026 | Author: Ben Berkowitz
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