Trump hits tiny islands off the coast of Canada with massive tariffs
Canada is now part of a long list of countries in a trade war with the United States after President Donald Trump unleashed an onslaught of global tariffs on Wednesday.
It seems that no nation could avoid Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs, which were slapped on countries as prominent as China and islands as small as Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon is a tiny, self-governing French territory that sits just off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. It’s an archipelago made up of eight islands and is home to just under 6,000 French citizens.
Despite barely having any economic ties with the U.S., Trump’s administration slapped it with 50 per cent tariffs, one of the highest on the list.
Tariffs on Saint Pierre and Miquelon on the top right (@WhiteHouse/X)
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, last year, the U.S. imported a total of just $3.4 million worth of goods from Saint Pierre and Miquelon, while the territory imported $100,000 worth from the U.S.
The Census Bureau didn’t specify what the U.S. bought from the islands, but seeing as Saint Pierre and Miquelon’s economy relies heavily on fishing, experts speculate that it could’ve been a huge order of seafood.
Although slapping 50 per cent tariffs on an unassuming island seems severe, the economic impact on Saint Pierre and Miquelon should be minimal because of their limited trade with the U.S.
In fact, the French territory has had more interactions with Canada.
In the 1980s, France and Canada were in a dispute over the precise definition of the maritime boundary in the region between Newfoundland and Labrador and Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Both countries wanted to explore the sea floor for oil and gas, in addition to cod fishing rights on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
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The beef concluded in 1992 when the French islands were awarded an exclusive economic zone of over 12,000 square kilometres.
And as recently as last year, the Canadian halibut industry raised concerns over fishing quotas in the region.
Meanwhile, Canada is fielding a new slate of auto tariffs from the White House. In a statement on Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney responded by matching Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on non-CUSMA-compliant vehicles imported from the U.S.