New US-Canada clash/ Trump threatens Bombardier with a sales ban if aircraft are not produced in America, Ottawa imposes tariffs worth $20 billion…

Trade tensions between the United States and Canada have deepened following US President Donald Trump’s threat to block the sale of Bombardier aircraft on the US market unless the company produces them on US territory.

Trump’s warning came just hours before Canada’s new customs measures on US goods, worth around $20 billion in total, came into force.

The tariffs imposed by Ottawa took effect at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday and affect several categories of products from the United States.

One of the toughest decisions is the increase of tariffs on US steel and aluminum to 50%, bringing the rate to the same level as that applied by the US to Canadian products in these sectors.

Other tariff measures will cover paper products, construction materials, household appliances and agricultural goods.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that his country will respond to any new measures taken by the Trump administration.

Trump made the statement about Bombardier through his social network, linking the company’s access to the US market to production within the United States.

“If they want our market, they have to produce here,” the US president said, while accusing Canada of using the US as a source of funding.

Bombardier, which is headquartered in Montreal, rejected this position, emphasizing that it has a significant manufacturing base in the United States. According to the company, its operations have secured tens of thousands of jobs in the country.

The latest crisis follows the breakdown of trade negotiations between the two countries last month, at a time when an agreement appeared to be close.

The talks failed to resolve several disputes, including rules on Canadian and French-language content on streaming platforms, as well as requirements for products to be labeled in English and French.

Carney has publicly criticized the American side’s approach to the negotiations and called on Washington to stop its political statements and return to serious dialogue.

The conflict could also spread to other strategically important sectors. Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, has warned that the province could restrict electricity exports to US states such as New York and Michigan, which are supplied by Canada.

Such a move would extend the confrontation beyond customs tariffs and increase the burden on consumers and businesses on both sides of the border.

Although the US economy is much larger than Canada’s, experts emphasize that this does not guarantee that Washington will remain unaffected by a trade war.

The United States and Canada are closely connected in several areas, particularly the automotive industry, the energy sector and industrial supplies.

The automotive industry is an example of this interdependence: Canadian factories produce specialized parts for vehicles assembled in the United States. Quickly replacing these components with products from other countries would be difficult.