New U.S. tariffs on Canadian products came into effect just after midnight on Tuesday, imposing a 50 percent levy on 110 different items, including certain cheeses, motorboats, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and furniture.
These updated tariffs are part of a broader set of adjustments announced by the Trump administration last week. Newly included items in the tariff list are aluminum products, paper and wood goods, iron or steel beams, electric lamps, and mattresses.
The White House stated that it would concurrently eliminate tariffs on 10 items such as salt, sugar, cement, switchboards, and toilet paper to “lessen the burden on U.S. commerce while better serving public interests.”
In 2024, Canada was responsible for exporting around $328 million US worth of toilet paper to the United States, making it the leading international supplier for this product.
Additionally, Canada ranks among the top salt suppliers to the U.S., with American imports of salt from Canada totaling approximately $159.2 million US in 2025, based on UN Comtrade and World Bank trade statistics.
The adjustments in tariffs are said to equate to nearly the same economic impact, effectively neutralizing one another, according to experts.
“In financial terms, they are essentially equal,” stated Wolfgang Alschner, the Hyman Soloway chair in business and trade law at the University of Ottawa, in an interview with CBC News.
The items that had tariffs removed are valued at around $2.41 billion, whereas the new tariffs apply to approximately $2.56 billion in trade for 2025, based on Alschner’s analysis. This results in only a marginal increase in the tariff coverage, representing a small fraction of the overall trade between the two nations.
The most significant dollar value lies in the category of switchgear assemblies and switchboards — the U.S. imported about $750 million US of these from Canada in 2025, which have uses in various applications, including automobiles and aircraft, Alschner added.
‘You need to salt your roads’
The choice to eliminate some tariffs indicates that the U.S. is mindful of the costs transferred to American consumers and is willing to adjust to alleviate their own economic strain, according to Alschner.
“You require salt to treat your roads during winter. This is not something that can be easily substituted,” he noted. “The same goes for cement.”
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These new measures follow the failure of the U.S. and Canada to reach a trade agreement in August, escalating the ongoing trade conflict.
On August 22, the U.S. acted on its threat to impose steep 50 percent tariffs on a broad range of Canadian goods. In response, Canada implemented its own tariffs on nearly 700 categories of U.S. products, which took effect on September 8.
U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated trade tensions with Canada by introducing new tariffs. CBC’s Peter Armstrong highlights how the widening trade conflict could result in job losses and small business closures.
Alongside new tariffs on September 15, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an impending import ban on Canadian alcoholic beverages, motorcycles, and several other products, with the ban set to take effect on September 29.
Experts indicate that the expanding scope of the trade conflict might lead to regional disruptions, potentially resulting in job losses and the shutdown of small enterprises.
Alschner pointed out that the latest tariffs could restrict some Canadian firms from adapting. For example, an aluminum manufacturer might have previously been able to redirect production towards types of aluminum that were not previously subject to tariffs.
However, with the introduction of more specific tariffs, “some of these loopholes have been sealed off.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney stated on Thursday that the government is closely monitoring U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent actions, which include bans on Canadian imports such as most alcoholic products and the introduction of new 50 percent tariffs on a series of other goods. ‘We fully recognize that for individual companies and in individual sectors these are significant, and there’s a response there,’ Carney said.
Economist Andrew Dicapua mentioned to CBC News that the subdued reaction from the U.S. regarding Canada’s retaliatory tariffs, along with the extended timeline before the import bans take effect, may signal that a trade agreement is on the horizon.
Trump recently suggested that a trade agreement with Canada could materialize “fairly soon,” during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin over the weekend, Dicapua pointed out.
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“The timing of these bans, coming later than the tariffs themselves, should indicate that the U.S. is allowing space for negotiation,” Dicapua added.
“Ultimately, we need to reach an agreement with the United States as soon as possible. This retaliatory approach, while perhaps well-meaning, is not a viable path forward.”