U.S. tariffs: is this the end of a rules-based trade order?

The trade war between Canada and the United States continues to rage, raising a broader question: Are we witnessing the end of a trade order based on clear and predictable rules?

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration’s use of emergency economic powers to impose a series of broad tariffs, reaffirming that this authority rests with Congress.

In a rules-based system, such a decision should mark a return to some sort of balance. Instead, the opposite has happened.

Rather than backing down, U.S. President Donald Trump quickly bypassed this decision by invoking a provision of a 1974 U.S. trade law to impose new temporary import tariffs, this time justified by international payment imbalances.

This move sends a clear signal: when the rules no longer allow President Trump to achieve his political goals, they are sidestepped. It also demonstrates a determination to impose tariffs at any cost, regardless of the justifications given, as well as a disregard for institutions, whether Congress or the judicial branch.

At the same time, the U.S. administration has launched a series of trade investigations targeting several countries, including Canada. These actions could serve as the basis for new tariffs or the extension of existing ones.

For Canadian workers, the impacts are real. This instability is weakening supply chains and putting jobs and the communities that depend on them at risk.

In this context, Canada must strengthen its own tools to defend domestic industries, invest in national industrial capacity and protect jobs at home.

In a world where rules are increasingly being bypassed, one thing must remain clear: workers must stop paying the price for this trade war and public policy decisions must finally put our jobs at the centre of every intervention.

usw.ca/defending-canadian-workers-and-jobs

This article appears in the Summer 2026 issue of USW@Work magazine.

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