{"id":16579,"date":"2025-02-14T22:38:36","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T22:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/14\/what-are-reciprocal-tariffs-and-could-they-affect-canada-national\/"},"modified":"2025-02-14T22:38:36","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T22:38:36","slug":"what-are-reciprocal-tariffs-and-could-they-affect-canada-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/14\/what-are-reciprocal-tariffs-and-could-they-affect-canada-national\/","title":{"rendered":"What are \u2018reciprocal tariffs\u2019 and could they affect Canada? – National"},"content":{"rendered":"


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U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> on Thursday fired the latest salvo in what many fear will become a trade war when he announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs<\/a> on goods entering the country.<\/p>\n

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Some experts and industry groups are worried it could lead to a global trade conflict and Canada could get caught in the crosshairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have decided for purposes of fairness that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America we will charge them, no more no less,\u201d Trump said as he signed the executive order Thursday.<\/p>\n

Trump said the tariff would differ depending on the tariffs individual countries imposed on U.S. goods.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn almost all cases, they are charging us vastly more than what we charge them. But those days are over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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The tariffs could begin to be imposed within weeks as Trump\u2019s trade and economic team study bilateral tariff and trade relationships, a White House official told reporters on a conference call, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tWhat are reciprocal tariffs?\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

After weeks of focus on retaliatory tariffs, many may wonder what the term \u201creciprocal\u201d means.<\/p>\n

Broadly speaking, a reciprocal tariff would appear to be aimed at matching either the value or the spirit of any tariffs in place by other countries on American products.<\/p>\n

This is different from what has become known in the Canadian context as a retaliatory tariff, which has been used when discussing a response to hit back at new tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Canada.<\/p>\n

For example, Canada does not have across-the-board tariffs on American goods. If Trump follows through on his threat to impose those sweeping 25 per cent tariffs next month, those sweeping U.S. tariffs would not be reciprocal, since Canada does not have any matching ones already in place.<\/p>\n

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Moshe Lander, economist at Concordia University, said the effect would be the same regardless of what kind of tariff it is.<\/p>\n

\u201cA reciprocal tariff and a retaliatory tariff are essentially the same thing. A reciprocal tariff is: a tariff already exists; I\u2019m now going to introduce one that matches what you had on me. A retaliatory tariff is: you have created a new tariff on me and therefore I\u2019m going to create new tariff on you back. But the economic effects are exactly the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canada has a list ready of retaliatory tariffs that the government will impose in direct response if that happens, which Trudeau has said are crafted to inflict pain on American consumers while minimizing pain on Canadians.<\/p>\n

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Thursday\u2019s announcement is separate from the 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum<\/a> and the additional 25 per cent tariffs that Trump has vowed to impose on Canada next month.<\/p>\n

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The order described \u201cnon-reciprocal trade relationships\u201d in very broad terms, including any tariffs on U.S. products, taxes and non-tariff barriers on U.S. businesses, workers, and consumers and \u201cpolicies and practices that cause exchange rates to deviate from their market value.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A non-reciprocal trade relationship, the executive order said, would be one which \u201cin the judgment of the United States Trade Representative\u2026 imposes any unfair limitation on market access.\u201d<\/p>\n

It added that a \u201cnontariff barrier\u201d would be described as \u201cany government-imposed measure or policy or nonmonetary barrier that restricts, prevents, or impedes international trade in goods.\u201d<\/p>\n

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