What to know
- Canada’s counter tariffs on nearly $28 billion of American goods went into effect just after midnight on Tuesday.
- The tariffs range from 15 per cent to 50 per cent and targets products such as dairy, beauty and makeup, kitchenware, and toilet paper.
- Products with a 15 per cent tariff include power/non-power tools, air conditioners, and forklifts.
- Products with a 25 per cent tariff include cheese, toilet paper, knives, and carpets.
- Products with a hefty 50 per cent tariff include milk and sugar, whey, beauty and makeup, and stainless steel.
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on $28 billion of goods from the United States went into effect just after midnight Tuesday.
Announced in late August, the dollar-for-dollar tariffs will target more than 700 imported American products at a rate ranging from 15 per cent to 50 percent, such as seafood, cheese, beauty products, toilet paper, kitchenware, and household appliances.
These counter-tariffs came after trade negotiations with the U.S. fell through. According to the federal government, negotiators for President Donald Trump tried to push through a deal that threatened Canada’s sovereignty and was “unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.”
“We couldn’t accept what they offered. We wouldn’t give what they’d asked. As a result, the U.S. has imposed new tariffs designed to hurt and divide us,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week.
Products with a 15 per cent tariff include power/non-power tools, air conditioners, forklifts and other power machinery, and metal moulds. American products slapped with a 25 per cent tariff include cheese, toilet paper, knives, carpets, stoves, fridges, dishwashers, and semi-trailers.
Lastly, products from the U.S. with a hefty 50 per cent tariff include milk and sugar, whey, beauty and makeup, envelopes, cardboard packaging, plywood, clothing, video games, and stainless steel.
Over the long weekend, President Trump took aim at Canada yet again, banning jetmaker Bombardier from selling airplanes in the U.S. unless they start manufacturing stateside.
“NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products aren’t good enough!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggybank.'”
Support for Canadian businesses
To provide protection for Canadian industries affected by American tariffs, the government is unveiling a $7.5 billion support package for workers and business through several agencies.
Small businesses will have access to $3 million of non-repayable loans — or grants — that will be available through regional development agencies.
The Bank for Canadian Entrepreneurs (BDC) will offer a second form of financial relief through $500 million dollars of loans. Small and medium businesses need to show their cashflow will be impacted by the tariffs and won’t need to pay back the capital for 36 months — until after the Trump administration has left the White House.
Medium and large businesses will be able to access $2 billion of funding through the Canada Strong Diversification Fund, which “support tariff-impacted companies with shovel-ready projects.”
No further talks have been scheduled between Canada and the U.S. to continue trade negotiations.
