Canada vows ‘dollar for dollar’ response as US puts 50% tariffs on some goods
Saturday, 22 August 2026
Warm-up
- What products from your country are exported to North America?
- Have tariffs or trade rules ever affected you or someone you know? How?
- When do tariffs help a country, and when do they hurt it?
Vocabulary
- tariff
- a tax paid on goods when they enter a country
- retaliation
- an action done to punish someone for a previous action
- escalate
- to make a conflict grow more serious or intense
- concession
- something you give up to reach an agreement
- sovereignty
- a country's right to control its own laws and policies
- vulnerable
- weak and easily hurt by problems or change
- inventory
- a detailed list of items in stock or in a group
- integration
- the process of linking parts together into a whole
Reading
The US imposed 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods after last-minute trade talks collapsed. Canada vowed a “dollar for dollar” response. Both sides blamed each other and no further talks are planned.
Carney said US changes were unfair and threatened language, culture and sovereignty. He argued they would cut tariff relief for Canadian-made vehicles and limit other trade deals. Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, accused Canada of seeking extra concessions and said the US was protecting American workers.
Greer said the US offer had been forward-looking, but the dispute will escalate. He added that the US had been facing a year of Canadian retaliation. Experts warned vulnerable sectors could see job losses and stores closing, and the rift could shake a North American trade pact.
US import taxes will hit about $20bn of Canadian products, or roughly 5% of annual exports. An official inventory lists dairy items such as milk powder and whey, sugars and syrups, and even densified wood blocks and skewers, revealing how closely the two economies’ integration runs.
Comprehension
- What action did the US take against some Canadian goods?
- How did Canada say it would respond to the new measures?
- What did Carney say the last-minute US terms threatened?
- How much Canadian trade do the US import taxes cover?
- What risks did experts warn about for certain sectors?
Grammar focus
Past perfect continuous
Use had been + verb-ing to show an action that was happening before another past event. Example: "He had been facing a year of Canadian retaliation." (Example 2 constructed.)
- He added that the US had been facing a year of Canadian retaliation.
- The dispute had been escalating for months before talks collapsed. (Example 2 constructed.)
Grammar exercise
Complete each sentence using the past perfect continuous (had been + -ing).
- By then negotiators (negotiate) ___ for months.
- Before the tariffs, officials (warn) ___ for weeks.
- By then Canada (retaliate) ___ for a year.
- By then vulnerable sectors (lose) ___ many jobs.
- Earlier authorities (study) ___ the pact's risks.
Discussion
- Are tariffs a good tool to protect jobs, or do they backfire? Why?
- Which products in your country would be most exposed in a tariff fight?
- Should political goals ever outweigh economic costs in trade?
- How could neighbours de-escalate a trade row once trust is damaged?
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