Canada-US Trade War Escalates Amid Tariff Increases

Canada and the US have imposed tariffs on each other's goods, with Canada increasing its tariffs to as high as 50% after the US raised import taxes. The higher rates are in response to the US's imposition of a 10% tariff under Section 301 at the end of July, followed by an additional 40% surtax under Section 338 on August 22.

Customs and foreign trade experts warn that companies will need to adapt quickly to these new costs. Dan Swartz, principal of customs and foreign trade at Ryan LLC, said 'It wasn't a blanket tariff... It covers only about $20 billion of trade, roughly 500 or so tariff schedule numbers, but it is impacting a number of industries.'

The Canadian government has argued that the higher tariffs are necessary to protect its economy. However, companies in both countries will struggle with these new costs and may need to find ways to avoid passing them on to their customers.