Trump’s painful new tariff rollout set to impact global trade

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced sweeping 10 per cent reciprocal tariffs –  and a 25 per cent tariff on “foreign-made” cars – in an initiative that he has repeatedly called “Liberation Day.”

During an announcement at the White House, Trump presented a lengthy list of countries facing various amounts of tariffs under his new policy. Canada was not on that list.

He declared a 10 per cent baseline tax on imports from all countries and higher tariff rates of dozens of nations that run trade surpluses with the United States.

That includes a 34 per cent tax on imports from China and 20 per cent on the European Union, among others.

A White House fact sheet said Canada and Mexico would not be affected by the new measures. However, during his speech the president railed about alleged 300 per cent Canadian dairy tariffs, claiming American farmers are being “brutalized” by Canadian policy.

Experts have repeatedly said that the U.S. president has misunderstood Canadian dairy supply control measures.

Canada accepts a certain amount of dairy products from the U.S. duty-free. Once that number has been exceeded, the tariffs go into effect. Notably, almost no dairy importers have ever exceeded that limit.

“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years, but it is not going to happen anymore,” he said during the announcement.

READ MORE: Trumps ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs looming as Democrats test Republican support

Just hours after the announcement, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the new tariff regime will “fundamentally change the global trading system.”

Carney plans to meet with his cabinet committee to discuss Canada-U.S. relations in Ottawa, and says he will fight back with countermeasures on any tariffs imposed on Canada.

Earlier in the week, Trump promised dollar-for-dollar tariffs on nations that levy duties on American goods. His aim, he says, is to correct years of what he determined to be “unfair” trade agreements.

At a press conference on April 1, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the new trade policy would go into effect almost immediately.

She added that if countries want to avoid the new tariffs, they must move their production facilities to the U.S.

Trump has indicated that consumers can avoid the 25 per cent auto tariffs by purchasing “American-made” cars.

However, industry experts have repeatedly warned there is no such thing as an American-made car, as no vehicles are manufactured and assembled exclusively in the United States.

Auto industries in Canada are already feeling the effect of the tariffs.

One Stellantis assembly plant in Windsor announced Wednesday that they are pausing production for two weeks.

National Unifor President Lana Payne flagged this very concern last week, but says that the tariffs will soon affect more than just the auto industry.

This is a developing story. More to come.

READ MORE: ‘Disastrous’: Unifor president on potential impacts of U.S. auto tariffs