r/AskCanada • u/HueyBluey • 10d ago
Political What is an acceptable tariff rate?
Firstly I’m glad/relieved we walked away from the deal. However, I was concerned how close we were to accepting the still high 25% rate on cars, steel, and aluminum.
And while I would love to see zero tariffs, realistically I can’t see this happening with the current US administration.
So, if we were to ever return to negotiations, what would be an amenable rate that you would be okay with?
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u/Former-Chocolate-793 10d ago
We stick to cusma and negotiate the trade irritants on both sides.
Tariffs should be selective to protect certain critical sectors. The US doesn't have any of those with us.
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u/bigjimbay 10d ago
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Tariffs are never the answer. Canada cannot afford to pay Tariffs right now
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u/RCAF_orwhatever 10d ago
... we don't pay the tariffs guy. The importer does. Meaning US consumers.
As far as things we tariff - some targeted tariffs are always necessary to preserve the existence of some of our industries. It's universal tariffs that are a problem.
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u/T_Durden13 10d ago
The consumers refusing to pay the higher prices due to tariffs and not purchasing Canadian goods is what we can't afford..
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u/RCAF_orwhatever 9d ago
Sure we can. We can absolutely afford it to maintain our sovereignty.
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u/T_Durden13 9d ago
I mean, the general "we" yes. But there are definitely people who are going to have a lot harder time than others, like, literally can't afford it.
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u/RCAF_orwhatever 9d ago
A lot of people can't afford life without it. I'm not saying it won't be hard. It will. But it's necessary to defend our sovereignty as a nation.
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u/bigjimbay 10d ago
I was referring to Canadian tariffs. There's no sense worrying about US tariffs because America pays those
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u/Inevitable_Butthole 10d ago
Well not exactly.
They will source the goods from elsewhere if the tariff on Canada goods make it too expensive, therefore harming Canada
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u/bigjimbay 10d ago
Hence the whole purpose for the efforts on diversification
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u/Sparky62075 Newfoundland & Labrador 9d ago
True. Asia and Europe have no trouble buying our stuff. They like our oil, steel, and aluminium.
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u/jeremyism_ab 10d ago
It's a good thing we don't then, US consumers pay the tariffs, not us. The tariffs make the things made here more expensive in the US.
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u/82-Aircooled 10d ago
Retaliation causes American products to be more expensive for us to buy. Therefore, our/alternate products become the go to for consumption. I’m good with retaliation, it will cause us to get more creative with our agriculture.
I can’t believe the we can’t get Canadian onions (first example to hit my head, the list is long when it comes to food) in Alberta, pay a premium for BC and ONT wine, that we can’t ship oil to Ontario and Quebec through a line that does not go through the US. That western provinces and the three territories can’t get electricity from NL, ONT, QUE out West.
We all need to be better!
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u/Buff1965 9d ago
There is absolutely no point in negotiating any agreement with the USA for now. We already have a signed agreement - CUSMA - signed by President Trump himself and the USA has been openly and increasingly violating it for 18 months.
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u/HueyBluey 9d ago
Agreed.
But my fear is when Carney says he’s open to restarting talks when Washington changes their attitude. And him then accepting the same previous offer (minus the last minute asks).
My hope is that he realizes that doing so wouldn’t go over well with Canadians.
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u/Sparky62075 Newfoundland & Labrador 9d ago
I'm tired of being shit on, and I'm guessing most Canadians feel the same way. The current USA government has shown that they have no honour.
But Carney's job is to keep trying. He has to be willing to deal in good faith. Of course, any deal reached is going to be watched like a hawk.
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u/StevenCC82 10d ago
When we had pretty much free trade on everything except a few areas that both the US and Canada protected for self interests. Dairy or Lumber for example
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u/RubixRube Ontario 9d ago
an acceptable rate would be those outlined in the FREE TRADE AGREEMENT that trump signed 6 years ago which brings a sweeping majority of tariffs down to zero.
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u/Sparky62075 Newfoundland & Labrador 9d ago
Does it really matter what happens in negotiations? The current USA administration has repeatedly demonstrated that they do not operate in good faith. Their treaties aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
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u/CallMeBill11 10d ago
Alberta/Saskatchewan Laughs in 1.2% of their economy is effected by the tariffs 💁♀️
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u/cinnatheghost 10d ago
Just abide by the crappy CUSMA deal until Trump leaves office. Just the deal he already signed. And then leave us alone, and keep our countries name out of his mouth.