The Canadian Chamber of Commerce today deplored the “reckless decision” of the Trump administration to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada, qualifying it as “self-defeating” and an “economic disaster” pushing both Canada and the United States towards recessions.
Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, declared: “Today’s reckless decision by the U.S. administration is forcing Canada and the U.S. toward recessions, job losses and economic disaster.
“The U.S. government’s self-defeating tariff policy disregards decades of success and trillions in trade to try and revive a failed economic model from the 1800s. Tariffs are a tax on the American people. Rather than bringing back affordability or creating a “golden age” for business, tariffs will cost consumers at the checkout, cost producers more at every point along the supply chain, and force businesses to find alternate suppliers that are less reliable than Canadian ones.”
Ms. Laing added: “The U.S. can claim this policy is about hitting Canada where it hurts, but it will soon see the disastrous impacts at home in cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Louisville. The U.S. can save its people from pain by stopping to reassess, as it did in 2018 when it realized the true cost of steel and aluminum tariffs was paid by American manufacturers.
“As for us, now is the time to double down on protecting our economic sovereignty and security. Recent announcements from the federal and provincial governments on internal trade are steps in the right direction, but what we do in this moment can’t be incremental, it must be transformational. To build a resilient, self-reliant and future-proof economy, we need to diversify our trade partners, revamp the tax and regulatory system, and do even more to streamline internal trade.”
(Dreamstime photo of national flags at a border area.)