U.S. Adjusts Canada Tariffs, Lifts Some Duties While Adding New Ones

The United States announced the removal of 50-percent tariffs on 22 categories of goods and the imposition of duties on 100 additional categories, a shift that balances roughly $2.5 billion in exempted imports with a similar value in newly targeted items. The changes are expected to reduce some economic pressure on border states such as Maine, where Senator Susan Collins highlighted relief for local packaging producers that affect apple and blueberry growers.

White House top economic adviser Kevin Hassett told Fox News that negotiations with Canada are “gathering steam” and that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been in talks with Canadian officials throughout the week.

University of Ottawa law professor Wolfgang Alschner noted that integrated cross-border supply chains mean tariffs can impact U.S. businesses and consumers as much as Canadian firms, adding that tighter North American integration historically supported trade between states like Maine and Quebec.

Some of the new duties target finished retail items, including shampoo, which Alschner said are intended to spread the impact more broadly rather than concentrate it in any single region.

In the hardwood-flooring sector, tariffs on Chinese and Vietnamese imports have redirected some shipments to Canada. William Pellerin, a partner at McMillan LLP, said his Quebec and Ontario flooring clients were already facing competition from low-priced overseas products and that federal work-share programs are helping firms manage layoffs.

Consultant Kyle Peacock identified a pattern of U.S. companies with Canadian manufacturing sites shifting production back to the United States. He cited examples such as lip-balm producers moving operations from New Brunswick to Vermont and Polyethics Industries relocating capacity from Ontario to Ohio, citing higher diesel and transportation costs as additional factors influencing the decisions.