How Canada is suffering from Trump's tariffs

For many Canadians, the shock is still deep. Being bullied in such a way by the United States, which was once its closest ally and neighbor, is disturbing, says Jay, who lives in Montreal. Suddenly you always have to expect that new US punitive tariffs will be announced in the news.

In everyday life, the new reality is particularly noticeable in the supermarket, says Elaine. Until recently, Elaine and her husband spent 500 Canadian dollars on monthly purchases. Now there are already 800.

Fight for survival

Small and medium-sized businesses in Canada have been struggling to survive for months because of trade tariffs. Especially those with a customer base in the US who are affected by Trump's tariffs, explains Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Association of Independent Businesses CFIB.

The effects are devastating, says Kelly. A Canadian honey producer recently wrote to him saying he was worried about losing an important U.S. customer he had supplied for decades.

Canadian honey has been subject to punitive tariffs of 50 percent by the United States since August, as have parts for 3D-printed model trains, which another small Canadian company has so far sold primarily to the USA. Once the tariffs went into effect, the producer saw customers abandoning those same items while shopping online when they noticed the tariffs being imposed, Kelly said.

No government support

Many of its more than 100,000 association members are not receiving government support from the Canadian government during this difficult time, explains Kelly. Because aid measures from the Canadian government would only benefit large companies.

"If you don't exceed the one million Canadian dollar sales threshold, then you don't have access to any of the aid programs," said Kelly. "And I find that deeply shameful of our Canadian government. Supporting the big companies but not the small ones."

Hope in CETA

Association President Kelly expressly welcomes Canada's intention to do more trade with the EU in the future in order to become more independent from the USA. He hopes that the European-Canadian free trade agreement CETA will finally be ratified by all EU states. In addition, the agreement still needs to be expanded.

The free trade agreement does not yet have a chapter that promotes trade between smaller companies in Europe and smaller companies in Canada. “It would be great to add that,” Kelly. This also included further trade facilitation, for example the reduction of bureaucratic hurdles that still exist.