Agriculture airs its fears with U.S. tariff clock ticking

Anxiety is growing among farmers, farm groups and the agriculture industry on both sides of the border as the Trump administration’s August 19 tariffs deadline looms.

U.S. President Donald Trump on July 20 signed executive orders imposing new 50 per cent tariffs on various Canadian goods.

Trump cited Section 338 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930 which, he said in a statement at the time, allows for such levies on imports when “a country disadvantages U.S. exporters relative to the exports of another country.

Canada’s tariffs on autos, restrictions on U.S. dairy and provinces’ recent restrictions on U.S. alcoholic beverages were named as particular sore spots.

The new tariffs apply to a long list of goods including many covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), like dairy products and alcohol. They exempt certain more desirable imports from Canada such as energy, potash, fish and “critical minerals.”