Trumps tariffs dismantle Canadian industrial markets
“NAFTA's goal was the integration of Mexico with the highly developed economies of the United States and Canada.” -James McBride
Critics of the deal, however, argue that it is to blame for job losses and wage stagnation in the United States, driven by low-wage competition, companies moving production to Mexico to lower costs, and a widening trade deficit.
The U.S.-Mexico trade balance swung from a $1.7 billion U.S. surplus in 1993 to a $54 billion deficit by 2014. Economists like the Center for Economic and Policy Research’s (CEPR) Dean Baker and the Economic Policy Institute argue that this surge of imports caused the loss of up to 600,000 U.S. jobs over two decades, though they admit that some of this import growth would likely have happened even without NAFTA.
Steel Tariffs
U.S. and Canadian tariffs have driven up the price of locally made steel across Canada and the United States . As a result of restrictive import tariffs on Canada, Canada imposed a system of quotas and tariffs on seven categories of steel to prevent cheap metal from flooding into the country.
U.S. and Canadian tariffs have driven up the price of locally made steel across Canada and the United States
Lumber Tariffs
"The Trump administration’s tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber are pushing up the cost of wood, adding approximately USD $9,000 to the cost of single-family homes in the United States." claims the U.S.-based National Association of Home Builders (NAHB),
By driving up the taxes on exporting lumber to the United States, President Trump has driven up the prices of Canadian lumber. This has made it less expensive for Canadian construction companies to import lumber from overseas as opposed to purchasing the more expensive domestic lumber. "For every $1,000 increase in the price of a house, 150,000 people are priced out of the market. This is having a serious impact on housing affordability, and it is having a serious impact on the home building sector as an economic force" -Jerry Howard