US President Donald Trump signed orders on Monday to impose new 50-percent tariffs on many Canadian goods, claiming "discriminatory treatment" by Ottawa against American alcohol, automobile and dairy products.

The tariffs take effect in 30 days and cover a wide range of goods including wine, hockey sticks and cement, said the White House in a fact sheet.

Trump tapped a little-known legal provision for the new duties – Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 – which allows officials to take action against countries said to engage in discriminatory trade practices.

The latest duties will not apply to energy, potash and goods already impacted by sector-specific tariffs, the White House said.

Crucially, however, they will hit products covered under the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement (USMCA).

While Trump has slapped sweeping duties on US trading partners since returning to the presidency last year, these have generally come with broad exemptions for goods entering his country under the North American free trade pact.

His latest actions threaten to further strain ties between Washington and Ottawa, and come just days after he threatened Canada with increased tariffs over smoke from raging wildfires that drifted into the United States. (AFP)



Edited by Tony Sabine