The US imposes tariffs on Canadian goods
And Canada retaliates with tariffs on US goods. What it all means for you.
The tariffs are here and the trade war has begun. Overnight, US President Donald Trump instituted a 25% tariff on Canadian goods, and a lower 10% on energy and critical minerals.
In retaliation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instituted an initial set of retaliatory tariffs on US goods, with additional tariffs taking effect in 21 days.
The Globe & Mail covers the details better than we could. (Apple News link)
What this means for you
Tariffs are, in essence, a tax on goods. The tariffs instituted by the US add a tax to everything coming from Canada to the US. Technically, these additional costs should not directly affect Canadian consumers.
However, the situation is a bit more complicated, as tariffs increase the costs of Canadian goods, which in turns reduces demand of those goods. That can trigger companies to reduce supply, resulting in layoffs at those companies. At a rate of 25%, this effect could happen quite quickly.
Conversely, the tariffs instituted by Canada will add a tax to some US goods coming into Canada. While the initial tariffs are unlikely to increase costs you see and feel at the store, all of us will start to feel the added cost once the additional tariffs go into effect.
What this means for Applewood Today
Our goal since we officially launched yesterday, has been to cover local news within Applewood, Mississauga. That goal hasn’t changed, though our news will necessarily adapt. If anything, our need to shop locally is more pivotal than ever.
Going forward, we plan to cover smart ways to shop, how to stretch your dollar further, and yes, we’ll be writing about freebies that companies offer. Even with this trade war, we plan to US companies as well—in Applewood, some of the major ones include Costco, Walmart, and McDonald’s (and we covered Popeyes over the weekend).
