Trump says he's "terminating all discussions on trade with Canada"
President Trump says he's "terminating all discussions on trade with Canada, effective immediately," after Canada announced a digital services tax on large foreign and domestic technology companies.
Posting on Truth Social Friday afternoon, the president said the U.S. will let Canada know what their tariff rate will be in the next week. The trade talks blowup comes only a week after the president met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Group of Seven economic summit in Alberta.
"We have just been informed that Canada, a very difficult Country to TRADE with, including the fact that they have charged our Farmers as much as 400% Tariffs, for years, on Dairy Products, has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American Technology Companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our Country," the president wrote. "They are obviously copying the European Union, which has done the same thing, and is currently under discussion with us, also. Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately."
Canada's digital services tax, which was enacted last year, will hit tech giants like Amazon, Alphabet (Google's parent company), Meta and Uber with a 3% tax on revenue from users in Canada. The Associated Press reports the retroactive tax bill is expected to cost U.S. companies $2 billion, due at the end of June.
The post came shortly after Mr. Trump told reporters in a press conference at the White House that he will soon be sending letters to countries with whom trade talks aren't going well, and tell them what their tariff rate is.
Canada is one of the United States' biggest trading partners. The U.S. has imposed tariffs on most imports from Canada, and Canada has hit back with tariffs on U.S. exports to Canada.
Prime Minister Carney said Canada would "continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interests of Canadians. It's a negotiation."
"Negotiations go through peaks and valleys. With deadlines approaching, some last-minute surprises should be expected," Candace Laing, the president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement, adding, "The tone and tenor of talks has improved in recent months, and we hope to see progress continue."
Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
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