For hockey stick seller Joey Walsh, the latest round of U.S. tariffs are maddening.
“We’ve been down this road time and again and it’s so frustrating,” Walsh said.
His company, Hockey Stick Man, gets about half of its business from U.S. customers, according to Walsh. Since the start of the trade war, the removal of the de minimis exemption on low-value packages and constantly changing tariff rates have removed any sense of consistency for his business.
He says he’s paid extra costs to the tune of $2 million, which he hopes to recoup in the form of a refund from the U.S. government, since the Supreme Court struck down earlier tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
In the past, he’s tried to ship products over the border before the tariffs took effect to minimize their impact. But after the announcement Monday of new 50 per cent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian exports — including hockey sticks — Walsh says he’s not changing a thing.
“We’re not even going to react because this is politics,” Walsh said. “It’s not sustainable … to just throw a 50 per cent charge on your neighbour and give you 30 days notice.”
While some business leaders like Walsh are holding steady in the face of fresh 50 per cent tariffs, others are dreading what they say could be a death knell while holding out hope that a deal with the U.S. could be reached soon.
The Trump administration intends to hit Canada with 50 per cent tariffs on a range of goods beginning Aug. 19, citing discrimination against American dairy, alcohol and motor vehicles.
Some of the new tariffs apply to Canadian dairy and alcohol products in a direct response to American grievances over Canadian trade policy, which the federal government made in response to previous U.S. tariffs. But a number of other goods are also being taxed — from honey to doorknobs to dog leashes.
According to a senior source in the Canadian government with direct knowledge of the trade situation, the value of the goods impacted by the new tariffs is about $28-billion — though the government is still verifying that estimate.
That’s roughly five per cent of the trade Canada does with the U.S., and it will push the effective tariff rate up by a few percentage points, according to deputy chief economist of CIBC, Benjamin Tal.
For the broader economy, Tal said, “It’s not good but it’s not devastating.”
He says the impact will be felt acutely by specific industries rather than across the Canadian economy writ large, and he is especially worried about makers of alcohol and the lumber sector.
An analysis by BMO economist Robert Kavcic also indicated that manufacturers of chemicals, plastics, electronics and industrial equipment might be particularly hit by…
Read More: Frustration, worry and hope: Canadian businesses brace for the latest round
