{"id":178183,"date":"2026-08-22T08:21:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T08:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/178183\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T08:21:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T08:21:17","slug":"bangkok-post-tariff-hit-canada-tries-to-curb-us-reliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/178183\/","title":{"rendered":"Bangkok Post &#8211; Tariff-hit Canada tries to curb US reliance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/c1_6198318.jpg\"   alt=\"A large transport truck crosses the Peace Bridge from Buffalo, New York, into Canada at Fort Erie, Ontario, on Aug 18, 2026. (Photo: AFP)\" class=\"img-fluid\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA large transport truck crosses the Peace Bridge from Buffalo, New York, into Canada at Fort Erie, Ontario, on Aug 18, 2026. (Photo: AFP)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>MONTREAL, Quebec &#8211; US President Donald Trump\u2019s 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods, which took effect on Saturday, have delivered another blow to bilateral trade, renewing focus on Ottawa\u2019s efforts to reduce dependence on its southern neighbour.<\/p>\n<p>Canadian Prime Minister Mike Carney\u2019s strategy involves a search for new markets, a focus on domestic trade and the launch of major projects.<\/p>\n<p>Interconnected markets<\/p>\n<p>The two economies are heavily interconnected, with roughly 70% of all Canadian exports heading to the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Previous Trump levies on autos, steel, aluminium and lumber have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and stunting growth.<\/p>\n<p>Canada has even entered a technical recession this year after two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.<\/p>\n<p>The latest 50% tariffs came into force after days of negotiations <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bangkokpost.com\/business\/general\/3306143\/uscanada-trade-talks-fail-high-tariffs-kick-in\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">failed to produce an agreement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>They impact some $20 billion worth of goods, or 5.5% of Canadian exports to the United States, targeting products ranging from hockey sticks to cement.<\/p>\n<p>Carney said Friday that Canada would match the US tariffs \u201cdollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Breaching the shield<\/p>\n<p>The exports affected by the US tariffs include products that were previously protected under the North American trade pact, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).<\/p>\n<p>At first glance, \u201cthat\u2019s frightening,\u201d said Richard Ouellet, a professor of international economic law at Quebec\u2019s Laval University.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUntil now, the USMCA acted as kind of a shield. The Americans are opening a breach,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>Trump declined to renew the USMCA on July 1, making it subject to annual reviews.<\/p>\n<p>While Trump ditching USMCA exemptions could forecast more extreme measures to come, Canada\u2019s largest bank, RBC, predicted the first package of 50% tariffs won\u2019t \u201csignificantly change broader Canadian growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s because the new tariffs, while significant, will still impact a small segment of total trade,\u201d RBC said last month, adding that around 80% of Canadian goods would still enter the United States tariff-free.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Diversification\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Since taking office in March 2025, Carney has focused on diversifying economic partnerships to reduce Canada\u2019s reliance on the US market.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCanada has what the world wants,\u201d Carney said in a statement following the breakdown of negotiations with Washington.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will not allow any nation to determine our future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The prime minister has headed to China, India and Saudi Arabia and made several stops in Europe seeking deals to expand Canada\u2019s economic relationships overseas.<\/p>\n<p>In January, he signed a preliminary agreement with China, providing for the import of electric vehicles to Canada.<\/p>\n<p>Relations with Europe have also been strengthened. In July, Canada selected the German firm TKMS to build its new fleet of submarines.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Canada\u2019s central bank said the economy was \u201cshowing signs of improving,\u201d noting that some businesses were adjusting to US protectionism, including by finding new customers abroad.<\/p>\n<p>A report from Canada\u2019s international trade minister also said that in 2025 the value of exports to non-US markets jumped by 11%, hitting 33% at one point \u2014 the highest level in more than four decades.<\/p>\n<p>Domestic revitalisation<\/p>\n<p>Another factor that could help cushion the impact of Trump\u2019s tariffs is a renewed focus on domestic trade.<\/p>\n<p>One of Carney\u2019s first major initiatives as prime minister was federal legislation to reduce interprovincial trade barriers.<\/p>\n<p>Provinces have shown reluctance to lift their own restrictions, but Ouellet said that overall \u201cthe Canadian market has been reinvigorated and there is more domestic trade.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carney has also tried to jumpstart domestic economic activity through his Major Projects Office, set up to reduce bureaucratic delays and grant quicker approval for select large-scale infrastructure initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>Carney has promised port expansion in Montreal and Vancouver and new mines to exploit critical minerals, as well as backing plans for an oil pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, Ottawa has unveiled plans to spend C$115 billion (US$83 billion) on infrastructure and an unprecedented C$82 billion on defence over the coming years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A large transport truck crosses the Peace Bridge from Buffalo, New York, into Canada at Fort Erie, Ontario,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":178184,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17,28134,11340,56423,10898,434,56404,6882,2042],"class_list":["post-178183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-canada","tag-canada-economy","tag-canadian-exports","tag-economic-diversification","tag-infrastructure-investment","tag-international-trade","tag-mike-carney","tag-us-tariffs","tag-usmca"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}