TORONTO – Business groups and analysts are decrying U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated intention to impose a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods and the spike in uncertainty the threat alone creates.
Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Scotiabank, says that based on the tariff rate apparently only affecting non-CUSMA compliant goods, it equates to an effective rate of between about four and seven per cent on imports from Canada.
He says in a note that even with the more narrow application, it could still be a “meaningful hit” while Trump’s various tariff threats globally are pushing uncertainty indicators up.
Candace Laing, head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that the tariffs would continue to damage the “most productive trade relationship two countries have ever had” and urged both sides to reach a real and reliable deal.
Giles Gherson, CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade, says members are “deeply frustrated” by yet another turn in U.S. trade policy that is not grounded in economic logic.
He says the federal government must keep negotiating for the best deal possible, while the business community needs to focus on what it can control.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2025.
