Tariff Update: Info for Members on the Trump Tariffs and Canadian Countervailing Tariffs
Info for Members on the Trump Tariffs and Canadian Countervailing Tariffs
Today the U.S. proceeded to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian exports and 10% on Canadian energy, despite Canadian action that resulted in demonstrably lowered fentanyl seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (which were already much lower than seizures on the Canadian side of the border). Canada has responded as it had intended when the U.S. tariffs were threatened last month, with countervailing tariffs in two tranches: 25% tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately in “phase 1,” and tariffs on the remaining further $125 billion on American products in 21 days’ time should the U.S. continue to apply unjustified tariffs on Canada.
CHBA Responds to Tariffs
This morning on Parliament Hill, CHBA CEO Kevin Lee took the opportunity to address the tariffs’ impacts on the residential construction industry during a press conference to unveil the latest CHBA Municipal Benchmarking Study. He said that while the U.S. tariffs themselves will have a muted effect on construction costs, careful deployment of Canada’s countervailing tariffs will be required to minimize impacts on construction costs in Canada. He also said that the industry is very concerned about the impacts of the U.S. tariffs on the overall economy, which in turn will affect housing starts.
“A slowing economy invariably means slowing housing starts, which will have expansive repercussions on housing supply, our industry, and long-term affordability,” said Lee.
CHBA Action
CHBA has been in continual dialogue with the Government of Canada on the issue, initially recommending that Canada’s countervailing tariffs avoid construction materials. However, given the need to combat the U.S. tariffs with Canada’s own tariffs, CHBA has also worked closely with government officials to provide advice on how to best target U.S. imports with the minimum impact on Canadian businesses and construction costs, for example by looking to product categories where there is ample supply from other countries to turn to.
To help Canada’s industries and businesses, the government is taking steps to mitigate the impact of these countermeasures on Canadian workers and businesses by establishing a remission process to consider requests for exceptional relief from the tariffs imposed as part of Canada’s response to the U.S. applying unjustified tariffs on Canada. The first phase list was released last month, and the second phase list was released today, with over 4,416 product categories, which CHBA is working through. CHBA will be working on members’ behalf to ask for remission on any key items that would cause hardship to the residential construction industry as a result of the countervailing tariffs. CHBA will also continue to be in close dialogue with the federal government on this issue.
More Information for Members
In terms of the potential economic impacts and what construction materials are being affected, there have not been any major changes to the information shared during the webinar CHBA held for CHBA members on February 5, and CHBA encourages members to watch the recording if they missed the live broadcast.
CHBA will continue to keep members informed about tariffs via the Industry Issues page on this important topic.
