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Tariffs hit builders
In Ohio, carpentry contractor Joe Koch said the U.S. trade war with Canada and other countries has scuttled plans for “three or four other new builds” as “People are just going to not build that house this year,” waiting for “interest rates lower” or “the tariffs subside.”
“People are just going to not build that house this year.”
Koch, the vice-president of operations for his decades-old family business, said President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian and other nations’ goods have raised the prices he pays and also costs for consumers, while he tries to keep supply management steady amid “uncertainty and instability.”
At a local ballpark, Pam Hall said, “It makes me angry. Why is that? Because, first of all, Canada and us have been very good allies forever,” and Patricia Vandervoort added, “We don't want Canada to hold it against us citizens — it's not us.”
The CBC also tied the local impact to trade figures, saying last year Ohio exported $17.5 billion US in goods to Canada, roughly a third of its total exports, and that Ohio imported $3.2 billion US in Canadian crude oil.
Retaliation and legal risk
Canada’s response to Trump’s tariffs came with retaliatory measures, with USA Today reporting that Canada announced tariffs up to 50% on $20B in products in retaliation to a similar bump in US tariffs after trade talks collapsed, and that Canadian officials said they targeted specific states and industries to apply political pressure.
USA Today quoted Canada’s minister of industry Mélanie Joly saying, “We’re being wise and strategic to put political pressure,” and it also reported that Canada’s retaliatory tariffs were set to start Sept. 8 after Trump imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion of imports from Canada on Aug. 22.
As the tit-for-tat escalated, the AP said Trump invoked Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act to impose a 50% levy on Canadian imports valued at $20 billion, and that the presidential trade authority under Section 338 has never been used, let alone tested in court.
Ryan Majerus told the AP, “This law is, literally, a blank canvas because it's never been litigated,” leaving it unclear whether Trump’s latest tariffs could survive a legal challenge.
Auto industry and costs
In the Detroit area, the Guardian described how “Every day $1bn worth of goods crosses the river” between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, as leaders and observers warned that Trump’s escalating trade spat with Canada is punishing the auto industry and fueling high prices.
“Every day $1bn worth of goods crosses the river dividing Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario”
The Guardian quoted Trump’s own line, “We don’t need Canada, they need us,” and it reported that nearly 75% of Michiganders said the tariffs are fueling high prices, while a June Epic-MRA poll found residents oppose tariffs on Canadian goods by a 63%-31% margin.
On the economic mechanics, the BBC said the threatened 50% tariffs on Canadian autos, trucks, and car parts would “feed through to consumer prices more readily than before,” and it cited Bernard Yaros of Oxford Economics saying the cushion car dealerships used to absorb costs is “wearing thin.”
The BBC also pointed to construction materials and household items, noting that Canada matched US rates on metals at 50% and that the Forest Products Association of Canada said tariffs would “raise costs on both sides of the border,” while Bill Owens of the National Association of Home Builders urged Trump to exempt building materials due to an “ongoing housing affordability crisis.”