Ammon News - U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly cut off trade talks with Canada on Friday over its tax targeting U.S. technology firms, saying that it was a "blatant attack" and that he would set a new tariff rate on Canadian goods within the next week.

The move plunges U.S.-Canada relations back into chaos after a period of relative calm that included a cordial G7 meeting in mid-June where Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to wrap up a new economic agreement within 30 days.

It also came just hours after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struck an upbeat tone on trade, touting progress had been made with China on reviving the flow of critical minerals for the U.S.

The often-chaotic rollout of Trump's import levies since his return to office this year has frequently whipsawed financial markets, and have begun to weigh on consumer spending, the bedrock of the U.S. economy.

U.S. stocks were briefly batted lower by his broadside against Canada, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq managed to close out the week at record highs.

The tax is 3% of the digital services revenue a firm takes in from Canadian users above $20 million in a calendar year, and payments will be retroactive to 2022.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social media platform, called the tax "a direct and blatant attack on our country" and said Canada was a "very difficult country to TRADE with."

"Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately," Trump said. "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." Reuters