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On April 2, U.S. president Donald Trump did not impose the across-the-board 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports he had previously threatened, so Canada will not be applying the additional $125 billion in retaliatory tariffs to American imports it had promised in response. He did apply tariffs to some automotive imports, triggering Canadian reciprocal tariffs on imports of U.S. vehicles.
The so-called “fentynal tariffs” announced back in February still apply on all Canadian imports not registered under the Canada US Mexico trade agreement. U.S. 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports also remain. So the $30 billion package of retalitatory tariffs on American imports also remains in place, affecting this list of construction products:
- Floor coverings of plastics, whether or not self-adhesive, in rolls or in the form of tiles; wall or ceiling coverings of plastics;
- Self-adhesive plates, sheets, film, foil, tape, strip and other flat shapes, of plastics, whether or not in rolls;
- Baths, shower-baths, sinks and wash-basins;
- Lavatory seats and covers;
- Doors, windows and their frames and thresholds for doors;
- Pretty much all pre-cut wood products, including veneer, flooring, particle board, fibreboard, plywood, wood doors and windows, shutters, post and beams, shingles and shakes, flooring panels, glulam and engineered timber;
- Power, pneumatic, hydraulic and manual hand tools of just about all kinds;
- Fans: Table, floor, wall, window, ceiling or roof fans, with a self-contained electric motor of an output not exceeding 125W;
- Chandeliers and other electric ceiling or wall lighting fittings, excluding those of a kind used for lighting public open spaces or thoroughfares.
Canadian renovators and homebuilders have escaped the worst case scenario for now. However, economists are predicting a severe global recession as a result of the massive trade disruptions Trump’s tariffs on almost all other countries will cause. American stock markets dropped about five percent the day after the tariff announcements. This is probably the greatest short-term threat to our industry.