US President Donald Trump has abruptly terminated all trade discussions with Canada, citing the country's new Digital Services Tax on American technology companies as a "direct and blatant attack" on the United States.
The announcement came on Friday through Trump's Truth Social media platform, where the 79-year-old Republican leader described Canada as "a very difficult country to trade with."
"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," Trump stated.
The US President emphasized the severity of his response by declaring, "Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately."
Trump also issued a warning about potential retaliatory measures, saying, "We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period."
Trade Tensions Escalate
This development marks a significant escalation in trade tensions between the two neighboring countries, which share one of the world's largest bilateral trading relationships. The Canadian Digital Services Tax that triggered this response is designed to target large technology companies, many of which are based in the United States.
Trump's specific mention of dairy tariffs highlights a longstanding point of contention in US-Canada trade relations. The agricultural sector, particularly dairy, has been a sensitive issue in previous trade negotiations between the two nations.
The termination of trade talks could have significant implications for both economies, as Canada remains one of America's largest trading partners with billions of dollars in goods and services exchanged daily.
Economic analysts suggest that this sudden breakdown in diplomatic trade channels could potentially disrupt supply chains and impact businesses on both sides of the border, particularly if new tariffs are implemented as threatened.
The Canadian government has yet to issue an official response to Trump's announcement.
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