Earlier tariff rounds, 2018 to 2025
The conflict did not start in 2026. U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum ran from June 2018 to May 2019, during President Donald Trump's first term. Proclamations signed February 10, 2025 brought them back at 25 per cent. The steel tariff took effect on March 12, 2025. Through 2025 each country added measures of its own. Canada put 25 per cent counter-tariffs on a broad range of U.S. goods, from groceries to appliances, and provinces banned American alcohol from their stores. Canada lifted most of those counter-tariffs on September 1, 2025. It kept those on steel, aluminum and autos.
Why this matters
The metals tariffs that ended in May 2019 came back in 2025, and Canada put counter-tariffs on U.S. goods. Some measures on each side were still in force when the 2026 talks began.
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Tariffs from earlier rounds were still in force when the August 2026 talks collapsed. U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum first ran from June 1, 2018 until May 2019, and Canada lifted its countermeasures on May 20, 2019. Proclamations signed February 10, 2025 brought the U.S. tariffs back at 25 per cent, and the steel tariff took effect on March 12, 2025. Canada lifted most of its 2025 counter-tariffs on September 1, 2025, and its 25 per cent counter-tariff on some U.S.-built vehicles stayed in force.
Which tariffs were already being charged before the 2026 talks began? → See all 1 claims from this moment →How it was reported
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Sources behind this moment
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Washington Examiner
Analysis
Trump and Carney are both to blame for interruption of US-Canada friendship
www.washingtonexaminer.comRead original source (opens in a new tab)
Paragraphs dating the 2018-19 metals tariffs and the February 10, 2025 reinstatement
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Department of Finance Canada
Official record
Canada eliminates countermeasures as the United States lifts tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum
www.canada.caRead original source (opens in a new tab)
Opening paragraphs
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The White House
Official record
Adjusting Imports of Steel into The United States (Presidential Proclamation)
www.whitehouse.govRead original source (opens in a new tab)
Reinstatement and effective-date clauses