Last chance to comment on proposed Canadian retaliatory tariffs

The federal government has posted a list of proposed items to include in a potential second round of retaliatory tariffs to be implemented after April 2 if the U.S. government continues with its 25-percent tariffs on most goods imported from Canada. The U.S. tariffs, initially imposed March 4, apply to everything except energy (10 percent), auto parts and goods explicitly covered under the CUSMA free trade deal (about 40 percent of our U.S. exports). Trump has threatened to lift the exemption for CUSMA goods after April 2, which would trigger an additional $125 billion worth of retaliatory tariffs from Canada.

Ottawa is seeking public input on the proposed list.

Here is a list of products relevant to renovators and homebuilders that are being considered for additional retaliatory tariffs:

• Carpet and linoleum;
• All paper products;
• Curbstones and flagstones;
• Sandpaper and other abrasives;
• All forms of asphalt and asphalt-derived products;
• Particle board;
• Plaster ;
• Cement;
• Bricks;
• Tiles and other ceramic products;
• All forms of glass including insulating glass;

The above would be additional to the $30 billion of tariffs already in place since Trump’s initial imposition of tariffs on March 4. These affect:

• 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.

In addition to the above, Canada has $30 billion of 25-percent retaliatory tariffs in place in reaction to Trump’s tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel exports imposed March 13. These affect just about anything made of metal, including:

• Metal fasteners of all kinds and all metal varieties;
• Radiators;
• Metal wire of all kinds;
• Tubes and pipes of all kinds, metal and PVC;
• Aluminum and steel plate and sheet;
• Hooks, eyes and eyelets;
• Air pumps and compressors;
• Air conditioners;
• Tanked and tankless water heaters;
• Electrical transformers;
• Electrical circuit boxes of all kinds;
• All lamps and lighting;
• Cars and trucks;
• Trailers and semi-trailers;
• Prefabricated buildings.