Follow along Friday for live tariff updates and analysis from across the Star newsroom.
Mark Carney announced retaliatory auto tariffs on American vehicles Thursday after the Trump administration imposed levies on non-U.S. cars and auto parts. China also retaliated by announcing a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products
Canadian economy lost 33,000 jobs in March, biggest loss since 2022
Statistics Canada says the economy lost 33,000 jobs in March, the biggest loss since January 2022, while the unemployment rate ticked higher.
The agency says the unemployment rate for March rose to 6.7 per cent compared with 6.6 per cent in February.
Read the full story from the Canadian Press
New and used car prices set to rise due to Trump tariffs
Experts say U.S. tariffs on Canadian auto imports will drive prices higher for both new and used cars.
Sean Mactavish, CEO of used-car marketplace Autozen, says prices are already rising on some used cars as sellers anticipate buyers looking for a better deal compared to a new vehicle.
Read the full story from the Canadian Press
China retaliates as Trump’s tariffs affect world markets
World shares slid further and U.S. futures also fell Friday as investors counted the potential costs of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest set of tariffs, even as China retaliated by announcing a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products and other retaliatory moves.
The new Chinese tariff matched the rate of the U.S. “reciprocal” tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump this week. The Dow Jones on Friday fell 1,200 points, almost 3%. The growth and tech focused Nasdaq fell harder.
Trump announced a minimum tariff of 10% on global imports, with the tax rate running much higher on products from certain countries like China and those from the European Union. Smaller, poorer countries in Asia were slapped with tariffs as high as 49%.
Read the full story from the Associated Press
Mark Carney hits back at Donald Trump’s tariffs, targetting $35B worth of U.S. vehicles
Canada struck back against the United States with a retaliatory counter-tariff punch on $35 billion worth of American vehicles shipped for sale into Canada as the fallout of President Donald Trump’s sweeping new trade measures walloped stock markets and rattled relations around the world.
The day after Trump flipped the table on the global trading order and hit more than 180 countries and territories — big and small, allies and rivals alike — with punishing tariffs of 10 to 50 per cent, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the Trump tariffs “will rupture the global economy and adversely affect global economic growth” likely causing a recession in the U.S. which could bleed into Canada.
Carney walked a fine line between striking back against Trump’s newly-imposed auto tariffs on Canada with matching retaliatory duties on American vehicles imported into Canada, and angling for a more advantageous re-set of the Canada-U.S. relationship while he courts allies elsewhere.
Canada’s duties will hike costs on Canadian importers and consumers, and raise about $8 billion in revenue which Carney said would be poured back into supports for the thousands of workers hit by what he called Trump’s “unjustified, unwarranted and…misguided” tariffs.
Read the full story from Tonda MacCharles, Alex Ballingall and Josh Rubin
About 6,000 autoworkers receive layoff notices as Stellantis announces two-week shutdown of Windsor plant
Donald Trump’s trade war just landed a body blow in Windsor, and industry insiders warn that it’s just the start of what could turn into a shutdown of the entire North American auto sector.
Auto manufacturer Stellantis informed its local union late Wednesday that it would be shutting down its Windsor assembly plant for two weeks starting April 7 putting up to 4,500 people out of work, and that “more changes to the schedule (are) expected in coming weeks.”
Union officials said Thursday that a total of 6,000 members have gotten layoff notices so far, including at the assembly plant, and at parts manufacturers which supply it.
Meanwhile, GM’s plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana has increased production of a light truck also produced at its assembly plant in Oshawa.
Check out the full story from Josh Rubin
Windsor autoworkers facing layoffs call Trump’s tariffs ‘an unjustified attack on Canada and our jobs’
The roughly 4,000 workers who will be laid off at Stellantis’ Windsor assembly plant became some of the first casualties of President Donald Trump’s trade war, but they are unlikely to be the last in this southern Ontario city.
While Trump sparred Canada from the worst of the global tariffs he announced Wednesday, the country’s auto industry was hit with a 25 per cent tariff, and a complicated set of rules to determine how it will be applied. Stellantis said Thursday it will shut the plant for two weeks — starting April 7 — to determine the impact.
“Stellantis continues to assess the effects of the recently announced U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles and will continue to engage with the U.S. administration on these policy changes,” said company spokesperson LouAnn Gosselin. “Immediate actions we must take include temporarily pausing production at some of our Canadian and Mexican assembly plants.”
Read more from Ryan Tumilty
Trump tariffs prompt market sell-off: S&P 500 suffers largest one-day loss since 2020
U.S. President Donald Trump’s expanded global trade war sent shock waves through markets Thursday with the S&P 500 suffering its largest one-day loss in value since the pandemic hit in 2020.
“A day like today is dominated by emotions,” said Bipan Rai, managing director of BMO Global Asset Management. “We got an historical announcement yesterday and the shock is still reverberating through the market.”
Markets in Asia and Europe were the first to open following Trump’s announcement Wednesday of reciprocal tariffs targeting U.S. allies and foes alike.
London’s FTSE 100 Index was down by 1.6 per cent as the U.K. faces 10 per cent tariffs from the U.S. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 plunged nearly three per cent after Trump slapped the island nation with 24 per cent duties,
Similar scenes played out in Canadian and U.S. markets by the time they opened.
Read the full story from Josh Rubin and Nathan Bawaan
Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request.
There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again.
You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply.
Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.
