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U.S. president Donald Trump has said that his administration will go forward with 25 percent (10 percent on energy) tariffs on all goods imported from Canada on March 4, following a month-long reprieve from his originally announced January date. Those tariffs would be on top of 25 percent tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel imports scheduled to go into effect March 12.
In making the announcement, Trump repeated his usual pack of lies about how Canada is abusing the U.S. on trade, we wouldn’t exist without U.S. subsidies, we should be the 51st state, fentanyl is flooding across out border, blah blah blah.
If implemented and left in place, economists predict the tariffs will cause a general recession for two years. The Canadian Homebuilders Association adds the threat of rising costs of materials, especially if retaliatory tariffs are put on construction materials. Builders are already reporting a chill on new orders due to tariff fears and there is some evidence that costs of materials are already rising. Many key items for renovators and custom builders are on the list of retaliatory tariffs announced by Ottawa at the start of February.
Prime Minister Trudeau says Canada will have an “immediate and very strong response” if the tariffs are imposed.