U.S. imposes 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products. Canada says it will retaliate

The United States has imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. The tariffs, which came into effect on Saturday, will hit around 5% of what Canada ships to the US every year, including products such as hockey sticks and tongue depressors, according to PBS NewsHour.

The move follows the failure of trade talks between the two countries, with Canadian Prime Minister's government saying they would match the new tariffs "dollar for dollar". The Hill reports that Canadian Prime Minister's negotiators were pulled from trade talks with the US on Friday evening, just hours before the tariffs were set to go into effect.

The US Trade Representative said Canada had declined to finalise a trade deal under the terms agreed earlier in the week, and that new demands and walkbacks of other commitments by Canada had upended the careful balance reached, The Island Sri Lanka reports. In response, Canada's government said it would introduce new measures to support workers and businesses affected by the trade war.

Brief written by urgent.news from PBS NewsHour, Free Malaysia Today, The Hill, France 24, The Island Sri Lanka — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.