While the Trump tariffs have so far singled out allegedly unfair treatment of the US by Canada when it comes to border protection and the fentanyl crisis, the question remains if focus might shift to Canada’s supply management system.
A recent announcement from Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) indicated Canada’s dry wheat quota had already been surpassed on January 12, mere weeks into the year. This raises questions about the fairness of the tariff rate quota (“TRQ”) system for anyone but the largest Canadian importers who have the means to take advantage of it.
While Canada was given a short reprieve yesterday from the tariffs threatened by US President, Donald J. Trump, President Trump appears to have doubled-down signalling that these 25% tariffs will be coming by February 1. If this is to be believed, the days of US and Canadian weighted average tariffs in the 2.2-3.4% range are over, and Canadian businesses need to begin preparing for the challenges these sorts of significant tariffs will bring – including the likelihood of Canadian retaliatory measures, which we reported on here.
In this Report will review basic preparation steps for “right now”.
