U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a 50% additional tariff on most products from neighboring Canada.

Just three days after threatening to impose a "wildfire tariff," he has decided to invoke a legal provision from nearly a century ago to levy new tariffs on Canada.

Analysts interpret this move as an attempt to gain leverage in the follow-up negotiations for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was not renewed due to U.S. opposition.

According to the White House, President Trump signed three proclamations on the 20th (local time) to impose a 50% additional tariff on certain Canadian products, citing Canada's discriminatory treatment of U.S. goods.

President Trump stated that the basis for this action is Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

Bloomberg reported that this provision allows the President to impose tariffs of up to 50% on countries that engage in discriminatory treatment in trade with the U.S., noting that this is the first time this clause has been applied as a basis for imposing tariffs.

The new tariffs will take effect in 30 days.

The White House explained that items such as wine, hockey sticks, and cement are subject to the tariffs.

The tariffs also apply to items that previously enjoyed duty-free benefits under the USMCA, while products already subject to tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, such as energy, seafood, and critical minerals, are exempt.

The Associated Press explained that the 50% additional tariff will apply to the vast majority of Canadian products.

In a separate press release, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) stated that the tariffs would affect 20 billion dollars (29.5 trillion won) worth of Canadian products.

The Trump administration officially claims that this measure is a response to Canada's discriminatory treatment of U.S. products.

The administration argues that due to Canadian authorities' imposition of tariffs and measures to halt the sale of U.S. products, Canada's imports of U.S. automobiles decreased by 22% during the one-year period from April of last year compared to the same period the previous year, and Canada's imports of U.S. alcohol decreased by 81% during the one-year period from March of last year compared to the same period the previous year.

A U.S. administration official claimed that Canada is one of the few countries, other than China, that has retaliated against President Trump's tariff impositions and therefore must be held accountable.

Some interpret this move as a strategy to increase bargaining power in the USMCA follow-up negotiations.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration refused to renew the current USMCA and announced a policy to review it annually for up to 10 years.

Consequently, it is suggested that the administration may have preemptively imposed additional tariffs to secure the most favorable outcome for the U.S. in the ongoing follow-up negotiations.

The fact that the tariffs were not implemented immediately but were given a 30-day grace period also supports this interpretation.

President Trump has previously threatened high tariffs to pressure other countries, only to withdraw them later.

Reported by JIN Sang-myeong | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Produced by SBS Digital News