The Aporia · Carney government’s retaliation may weaken the legal case against Trump’s tariffs, think tank argues

Carney government’s retaliation may weaken the legal case against Trump’s tariffs, think tank argues

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Tuck, S. (2026, September 23). Carney government’s retaliation may weaken the legal case against Trump’s tariffs, think tank argues. National Post. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/carney-governments-retaliation-may-weaken-the-legal-case-against-trumps-tariffs

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Quick Summary

A new report from the Montreal Economic Institute argues that the Carney government's recent retaliatory tariffs against the United States could undermine Canada's legal case against President Trump’s tariffs. The report, set for release on Wednesday, claims that by imposing discriminatory tariffs, Canada may be providing justification under U.S. law for Trump’s actions, potentially weakening its own position in court. Law professor Ilya Somin of George Mason University, one of the report authors, acknowledges the political motivation behind these counter-tariffs but warns they carry legal risks and could complicate efforts to challenge the tariffs legally.

Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) released a report arguing that Carney's government's recent imposition of counter-tariffs on American imports may weaken Canada’s legal stance against Trump's tariffs, as the U.S. President's actions could be justified under the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which allows for retaliatory measures if another country imposes discriminatory tariffs. Law professor Ilya Somin from George Mason University in Virginia notes that while there is political pressure to retaliate against Trump’s tariffs on Canada, such counter-tariffs are inherently discriminatory and could legally support the justification for Trump's actions, thereby undermining any legal challenges to them. The report suggests that while understanding the political motivations behind these retaliatory measures, they may come with significant legal risks.

Written for “US Tariff Policy” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

36%

5 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

withheld

no quote in the article backed the model's score

Publisher signals

60/100

National Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

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National Post · 1242 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Simon Tuck

10 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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🔮 — The Carney government’s latest round of counter-tariffs may weaken the legal case against the Trump tariffs, because they directly discriminate against American imports, a new think tank report says.

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 10 articles by Simon Tuck →

Topics

American Canada Canadian MEI U.S.

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 8× MEI ORG · 5× Canada GPE · 4× Canadian NORP · 4× American NORP · 3× U.S. GPE · 3× Carney PERSON · 2× OTTAWA GPE · 2× Somin PERSON · 2× the Montreal Economic Institute ORG · 1×

Narrative

While Trump hasn’t directly invoked Smoot-Hawley to justify any of his various tariffs, that legislation from 96 years ago did establish a precedent of sorts in allowing a president to adjust tariff rates that had already been approved by Congress if discrimination were involved.

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23

2026-09-23 · National Post

Carney government’s retaliation may weaken the legal case against Trump’s tariffs, think tank argues · mixed framing

Claims (14 extracted, 5 hedged)

— The Carney government’s latest round of counter-tariffs may weaken the legal case against the Trump tariffs, because they directly discriminate against American imports, a new think tank report says. uncertain

report → weaken → imports

In a report to be released Wednesday, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), wrote that U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent tariffs against Canada may rest legally on 1930 legislation that is often blamed for almost immediately fuelling the Great Depression. uncertain

that → release → Depression

But that legislation, the Smoot-Hawley tariff, states that American tariffs are to be used to fight back against discriminatory tariffs from another country, perhaps such as those launched earlier this month by Canada. asserted

tariffs → state → Canada

Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University in Arlington, Va. and one of the authors of the MEI report, said he understands the political pressure to fight back against the Trump tariffs against Canada, but that the counter-tariffs are not without risk. Counter-tariffs are by definition discriminatory, he said, which could legally justify Trump’s tariffs and therefore threaten the legal argument against them. “Ideally, they shouldn’t do this but i do recognize there are political advantages,” said Somin, who is also a senior fellow at the MEI uncertain

who → say → MEI

. U.S. opponents could certainly still win a legal argument against the Trump tariffs, Somin said, but it’s far from certain. uncertain

it → win → tariffs

“It is hard to predict how a court would handle this particular point,” the report concludes. asserted

report → predict → point

In July, Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on a range of Canadian imports and then expanded the list a month later. asserted

Trump → impose → list

Canada responded earlier this month with counter-tariffs at the same rate on a basket of American imports. asserted

Canada → respond → imports

discrimination → invoke → Congress

The MEI report acknowledges that these latest rounds of Trump tariffs could be struck down in court despite the Canadian counter-tariffs because the 1930 legislation has since been supplanted by more recent legislation. uncertain

legislation → acknowledge → legislation

The document describes the Trump tariffs, which have caused harm to a number of Canadian businesses and sectors, as “harmful, illegal and indefensible.” asserted

which → describe → businesses

The MEI isn’t alone in questioning the Carney government’s counter-tariffs. asserted

MEI → question → tariffs

Economists have said that tariffs and counter-tariffs cost both sides because they raise prices and make both economies less efficient. asserted

economies → say → prices

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly has said Ottawa’s counter-tariffs will help Canadian negotiators in future talks with the U.S. National Post asserted

tariffs → say → U.S.