America 'not at war' with Canada, insists U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

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Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-08-31 18:00:16.0
Tags: [National, Trade, Economy, Finance, Defence]

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed claims of a trade war with Canada during an interview with CNBC, criticizing Prime Minister Mark Carney for walking away from a trade deal and imposing 50 percent retaliatory tariffs on roughly $28 billion worth of Canadian exports. The U.S. previously imposed these tariffs after trade negotiations collapsed due to disputes over auto industry terms, restrictions on foreign trade deals, and protections for French-language media and bilingual product labelling. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is scheduled to meet with Bessent and G20 counterparts in Asheville, North Carolina, while provincial leaders including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have voiced concerns that the ongoing tariff escalations will harm small businesses and regional economies.

Canada adds more U.S. goods to list of planned counter-tariffs

Source: Global News Politics
Date: 2026-08-28 15:35:30.0
Tags: [National, Trade, Economy, Finance, Industry]

Finance Canada announced adjustments to its planned counter-tariffs targeting U.S. goods, following feedback from Canadian industry stakeholders. The retaliatory measures, matching U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar and rate for rate up to 50 per cent, now encompass over 700 American goods valued at $27.6 billion, with the countermeasures set to take effect on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Specific additions subject to the 50 per cent tariff rate include wood charcoal, American copper wire, printed materials, articles of plaster, and various glass containers such as carboys, bottles, jars, and preserving jars. Meanwhile, American seafood and fish products were removed from the initial tariff list following consultations deemed to be in Canada's best interests.

Conservatives want the Liberals to release the rejected U.S. trade deal. Should they?

Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-08-27 15:10:27.0
Tags: [National, Trade, Economy, Finance, Governance]

Following the collapse of trade negotiations that led the United States to impose 50 per cent tariffs on hundreds of Canadian imports, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet called on Prime Minister Mark Carney's federal government to release the rejected draft text of the trade agreement. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne defended the government's approach by noting that key details had been publicly reported and that the negotiations were extensively advertised. Meanwhile, trade and policy experts offered contrasting views, with Lawrence Herman of the C.D. Howe Institute arguing that releasing the text would compromise future negotiation positions, while Carlo Dade of the University of Calgary contended that transparency is necessary to preserve national unity against potential U.S. divide-and-conquer tactics under Section 338 of the U.S. Tariff Act.