Free Trade

Trump's New 50% Tariff on Canadian Goods Is Actually an Admission That Trade Wars Don't Work

The trade war caused exports to Canada to fall. Now, Trump is pointing to that fact to justify more tariffs.

Eric Boehm | 7.21.2026 12:05 PM

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(Illustration: Midjourney)

Shortly after the Trump administration announced massive new tariffs on some Canadian imports on Monday, the White House's official X account made a telling statement about the policy.

"Canada imposed an unfair tariff scheme on American cars," the post explained, before claiming that the tariffs had caused fewer cars to be imported into Canada and had been costly for American automakers.

"President Trump won't put up with Canada's trade schemes," it concluded.

Yes, if there is one thing Donald Trump simply cannot stand, it is arbitrary, costly, protectionist trade policies.

In response, Trump imposed some arbitrary, costly, and protectionist measures. The new 50 percent tariffs will target a mishmash of Canadian cultural goods like beer, whisky, and hockey sticks (yes, really). The tariffs will cover over $20 billion worth of annual imports, about 2 percent of all U.S.-Canada trade last year, according to The New York Times. They will apply to many items that are supposed to be covered by the........

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