Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods now in effect

There are signs of growing unity in Canada and Hamilton today to stand up against Donald Trump in the Canada-U.S. trade war. That’s even as Canada’s retaliation against Trump threatens to push up prices for Canadians.

There’s a lot of uncertainty around the trade war today and what the impact of Canada’s counter-tariffs are going to be. But there’s a lot of certainty around the way Canadians feel about Donald Trump and his attacks on Canada.

As people in Hamilton and across Canada face the prospect of higher prices for things like groceries because of the trade war, there isn’t a lot of complaining about Canada’s decision to hit back at U.S. imports.

“I generally don’t buy U.S. products,” said one shopper.

In fact, they’re pleased that Canada is fighting back.

“Canada’s the only country that’s throwing tariffs back in the United States’ face. I’m kind of proud of them for that,” said another shopper

As of midnight last night, Canadian counter-tariffs against the United States came into effect.

The 50 per cent tariffs cover 700 U.S. products worth $27.6 billion.

They include food like vegetables and dairy from the U.S., personal care products like shampoo and conditioner, appliances, furniture and clothing.

At Morgenstern’s department store in Hamilton, the tariffs won’t have much effect, if any, because they don’t sell American clothes.

Morty Morgenstern of Morgenstern’s says: “The only thing that’s going to hurt me is if my customers are affected, because then they don’t have the money to buy things … but I don’t carry anything in my store that’s made in the States.”

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But at Peter Martin’s Appliances, some products are made in the U.S.

Peter Martin says the industry has already been dealing with two years of uncertainty in the tariff war and prices could be hit.

“Manufacturers, if they were absorbing anything, it might have been early on in the tariff issues two years ago, but they certainly can’t absorb anything now.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a video statement today saying Canada had to cut off the trade talks with the U.S.

Carney said: “In too many areas they wanted dependency, not a true economic partnership.”

He says Canada has to decide its own future.

“Our tariffs are necessary to protect our workers, protect our companies and our communities. We can’t let American goods into Canada tariff-free while they charge our companies to export them.”

Amid the uncertainty, if somebody really has to buy things like American appliances, there may be an opportunity before the tariff impact registers.

Martin said: “Certainly, I doubt very much that there’ll be a price increase regarding the tariffs for the next 30 to 60 days. So if somebody needed something, the next 60 days certainly would be the time.”

And Trump is firing back at Canada today. He accuses Canada of a trade scam by banning American business from selling to government agencies in Canada, while he says Canada has access to American government procurement worth $50 billion a year. He’s threatening to cut off Canada from those markets.

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