Trump Says He May Hit Canada With Dairy, Lumber Tariffs Soon

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President Donald Trump said he may implement reciprocal tariffs on Canadian lumber and dairy products as soon as March 7, threatening again to disrupt cross-border trade.

“Canada has been ripping us off for years on tariffs for lumber and for dairy products. 250% — nobody ever talks about that — 250% tariff — which is taking advantage of our farmers. So that’s not going to happen anymore,” Trump said March 7 in the Oval Office.

“They’ll be met with the exact same tariff unless they drop it, and that’s what reciprocal means. And we may do it as early as today, or we’ll wait till Monday or Tuesday, but that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to charge the same thing. It’s not fair,” he added.

Trump’s comments cap a tumultuous week that saw him impose 25% tariffs on the largest U.S. trading partners, Mexico and Canada, and double levies against the world’s second largest economy, China, to 20%. Those moves sparked worries that Trump’s sweeping trade agenda would further strain a U.S. economy facing headwinds, including stagnating factory activity, still simmering inflation and ebbing consumer confidence.

Trump on March 6 delayed those tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods covered under a free trade agreement until April 2, offering a brief reprieve, but spurring uncertainty over a trade strategy that has gripped markets and businesses.

Trump on March 7 described his proposed tariffs as reciprocal, which is the same phrasing he has used to describe the broader duties he plans to implement on April 2.

The U.S. is preparing a set percentage for each country that the administration says would match both tariff and other barriers to American imports. But his comments March 7 suggested a particular focus on Canadian dairy and lumber. He’s also expected to move forward with sector-specific tariffs on metals next week.

Trump defended his tariff strategy, saying that it was helping spur domestic manufacturing jobs in the U.S. — in particular with the auto industry — reversing what he said was a downward slide under his predecessor, Joe Biden.

“We’ve not only stopped that manufacturing collapse, but we’ve begun to rapidly reverse it and get major gains,” Trump said. “We created almost 9,000 new jobs in the auto production field. And the reason for that is largely they think things are happening so they’re already geared up.”

Still, auto industry leaders had pushed for relief from Trump’s initial tariff declaration against Canada and Mexico. Auto production is highly integrated with supply chains that crisscross those countries and the U.S. Automobiles and parts that meet requirements under the USMCA trade pact are among the products Trump delayed tariffs on March 6.

Trump’s comments followed a jobs report that presented a mixed snapshot of the labor market as the president overhauls U.S. government policy by implementing tariff hikes and moving to slash federal agencies’ spending and workers. Job growth steadied in February, with nonfarm payrolls increasing 151,000 after a downward revision to the prior month. The unemployment rate, though, rose to 4.1%.

Adding to Trump’s woes, the Nasdaq 100 Index on March 7 sank into a correction — a more than 10% drop — as investors soured on tech stocks that have led a market rally in recent years. Trump has long looked to the markets as validation for his economic policies, even though he sought to downplay that metric earlier this week following an selloff sparked by his tariffs on Canada and …