Trump Halts US-Canada Trade Talks Over Digital Services Tax

President Trump has abruptly ended trade negotiations with Canada, citing Canada's implementation of a Digital Services Tax (DST) on American technology companies as a direct and blatant attack on the United States. He announced the termination of all trade talks effective immediately and warned that new tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U.S. would be announced within a week. The DST, introduced by Canada last year and retroactive to 2022, imposes a 3 percent levy on revenues from American digital platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Google, and Meta operating in Canada. This move comes despite ongoing efforts by both nations to finalize a new trade and security agreement by mid-July following discussions at the G7 summit. The tax was intended to support Canadian content creators by funding local film, TV, and music production, but Trump views it as an egregious tariff undermining U.S. interests. The trade conflict escalates a broader tariff war between the two countries, with Trump previously threatening economic action against Canada and imposing high tariffs earlier in his administration.