Canada has reportedly introduced retaliatory tariffs against the United States, according to WWD. These taxes, which could reach 50%, would target roughly $20 billion worth of U.S. goods, mirroring the U.S. duties that took effect Saturday after a week of tense negotiations, the outlet reports.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on X on Tuesday morning: « Canada will match the new U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar », according to WWD. These measures, taken under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, are set to take effect on September 8.
L'habillement, collateral target
Canada accounted for less than 0.5% of all apparel imported by the United States last year, according to WWD. But among the targeted products, men's and boys' wool suits and blazers are said to make up roughly a third of apparel imports subject to this tariff. The United States reportedly imported nearly $100 million worth of these Canadian suits last year, now hit with a 50% duty.
Bob Kirke, executive director of the Canadian Apparel Federation, summed up the situation this way: « There will be no Canadian suits in the U.S. and no U.S. suits in Canada ». He did, however, qualify the case of Peerless: « Peerless still makes a fair amount in Canada, but can make most any suit they want in any country around the world ». According to him, « it's still not too late to reverse course ».
At Samuelsohn, a menswear tailor, PDG Stephen Granovsky said he was still « working through » the implications of this tariff matter, according to WWD.
A new era of tensions
Donald Trump has also threatened to impose sectoral tariffs of 50% on Canadian cars, trucks and auto parts. Josh Teitelbaum, a trade policy expert at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, said the president would reportedly not want to apply them before January 1, which is « an eternity when it comes to negotiating with this president ».
Teitelbaum estimated that it would take « at least until October, November before the parties are going to come together and try to talk this out again », citing Canadian provincial elections and the U.S. midterm elections in November. He added that « the rhetoric after the collapse of the deal has been pretty hot from both sides, and they've got to go through the five stages of grief here a little bit ». According to him, « there's the interpersonal disappointment that gets expressed, but there's also the political realities that are probably why the deal fell apart in the first place ».
Teitelbaum judged that the short-term effects should be « fairly minor — but that doesn't mean there won't be some acute pain for some unlucky brands ». He concluded that this moment represented « likely the beginning of a new era in U.S.-Canadian relations ».
Steve Lamar, president and chief executive of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, echoed this assessment, describing relations as « a lot rockier than they've been in the past » and the start of « a slightly different chapter ». He stressed that the apparel industry finds itself being « the collateral damage; the unintended victims » of a dispute over other issues. According to him, companies that produce and trade these goods will have to « make some really hard decisions that affect their suppliers and their customers, too ».
