Trump Says He May Hit Canada With Dairy, Lumber Tariffs Soon

Tariffs on USMCA Goods Delayed

Canada lumber
(mntnvision/Getty Images)

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President Donald Trump said he may implement reciprocal tariffs on Canadian lumber and dairy products as soon as March 7, threatening again to disrupt cross-border trade.

鈥淐anada has been ripping us off for years on tariffs for lumber and for dairy products. 250% 鈥 nobody ever talks about that 鈥 250% tariff 鈥 which is taking advantage of our farmers. So that鈥檚 not going to happen anymore,鈥 Trump said March 7 in the Oval Office.

鈥淭hey鈥檒l be met with the exact same tariff unless they drop it, and that鈥檚 what reciprocal means. And we may do it as early as today, or we鈥檒l wait till Monday or Tuesday, but that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e going to do. We鈥檙e going to charge the same thing. It鈥檚 not fair,鈥 he added.

Trump鈥檚 comments cap a tumultuous week that saw him impose 25% tariffs on the largest U.S. trading partners, Mexico and Canada, and double levies against the world鈥檚 second largest economy, China, to 20%. Those moves sparked worries that Trump鈥檚 sweeping trade agenda would further strain a U.S. economy facing headwinds, including stagnating factory activity, still simmering inflation and ebbing consumer confidence.



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Donald Trump

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Trump on March 6 delayed those tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods covered under a free trade agreement until April 2, offering a brief reprieve, but spurring uncertainty over a trade strategy that has gripped markets and businesses.

Trump on March 7 described his proposed tariffs as reciprocal, which is the same phrasing he has used to describe the broader duties he plans to implement on April 2.

The U.S. is preparing a set percentage for each country that the administration says would match both tariff and other barriers to American imports. But his comments March 7 suggested a particular focus on Canadian dairy and lumber. He鈥檚 also expected to move forward with sector-specific tariffs on metals next week.

Trump defended his tariff strategy, saying that it was helping spur domestic manufacturing jobs in the U.S. 鈥 in particular with the auto industry 鈥 reversing what he said was a downward slide under his predecessor, Joe Biden.

鈥淲e鈥檝e not only stopped that manufacturing collapse, but we鈥檝e begun to rapidly reverse it and get major gains,鈥 Trump said. 鈥淲e created almost 9,000 new jobs in the auto production field. And the reason for that is largely they think things are happening so they鈥檙e already geared up.鈥

Still, auto industry leaders had pushed for relief from Trump鈥檚 initial tariff declaration against Canada and Mexico. Auto production is highly integrated with supply chains that crisscross those countries and the U.S. Automobiles and parts that meet requirements under the USMCA trade pact are among the products Trump delayed tariffs on March 6.

Trump鈥檚 comments followed a jobs report that presented a mixed snapshot of the labor market as the president overhauls U.S. government policy by implementing tariff hikes and moving to slash federal agencies鈥 spending and workers. Job growth steadied in February, with nonfarm payrolls increasing 151,000 after a downward revision to the prior month. The unemployment rate, though, rose to 4.1%.

Adding to Trump鈥檚 woes, the Nasdaq 100 Index on March 7 sank into a correction 鈥 a more than 10% drop 鈥 as investors soured on tech stocks that have led a market rally in recent years. Trump has long looked to the markets as validation for his economic policies, even though he sought to downplay that metric earlier this week following an selloff sparked by his tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

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