U.S. Tariffs Could Price Canadian Firms Out of U.S. and Threaten Thousands of Jobs

The 50 percent tariffs that President Trump imposed on Canada this weekend could be devastating for many Canadian companies and their employees. It could price them out of the United States and lead to the loss in tens of thousands of jobs, economists say.

“Fifty percent is a huge number for the individual products that are affected,” said Joseph Steinberg, a professor of macroeconomics at the University of Toronto.

“For those products, we should see a very large reduction in exports,” he added. “In some cases, exports will stop altogether, and the firms that produce those products will be severely impacted. Some will undoubtedly shut down.”

Up to 90,000 jobs in Canada could be lost, according to calculations by Trevor Tombe, a trade economist at the University of Calgary in Alberta. Those include jobs at companies not directly affected by tariffs. For example, demand for truck drivers will dry up once Canadian firms are shut out of the U.S. market.

Among the industries likely to be hit hard is forestry. After decades of steep tariffs on softwood lumber — levies that Mr. Trump increased last year — it is facing additional 50 percent tariffs on exports that include plywood, laminated wood products, fiberboard, paper, tissue for toilet paper and packaging.

“We’re getting hammered,” said Derek Nighbor, president of the Forest Products Association of Canada. Nevertheless, he said, he supports the decision of Prime Minister Mark Carney to walk away from trade negotiations with the United States on Friday night.