From 'best agreement ever' to a trade war: Trump vs. his own Canada deal
He called USMCA the best trade deal ever made. In 2026 he declined to renew it, and 50 percent tariffs on Canadian goods met dollar-for-dollar retaliation.
Trump signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2020 and called it the best trade deal the U.S. had ever made, replacing what he called the nightmare of NAFTA. By 2025 he was imposing 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods and asking who would ever sign agreements like it.
The fight kept escalating. In October 2025 he cancelled trade talks over an Ontario TV ad that used Ronald Reagan's words against tariffs. At the July 2026 joint review, Canada and Mexico said they wanted to renew USMCA; the United States declined. After talks collapsed in August, Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on about C$27.6 billion of Canadian goods, effective Aug. 22, 2026. Canada matched them dollar for dollar on Sept. 8, targeting U.S. steel, aluminum, dairy, appliances and farm equipment.
The Council on Foreign Relations noted that USMCA's exemptions had kept most North American trade tariff-free until now, and that the new tariffs apply even to goods that qualify under the agreement.
The receipts
Original reporting. Credit belongs to these outlets and authors; read the full stories at the source.
Congressional Research Service byline on original
U.S.-Canada trade relations (updated Sept. 15, 2026)Government of Canada byline on original
Complete list of U.S. products subject to counter tariffsCouncil on Foreign Relations byline on original
The real cost of the U.S.-Canada trade breakdownThe Daily Beast (as shared in our notes) byline on original
Trump blasts his own trade deal with Canada: 'Who made these decisions?'