Canada Is Feeling the Pain From Trump's Tariffs, Fox Reports, but Analysts Say the Dairy Dispute Behind Them Is Not New
Fox cites Bank of Canada figures showing steel exports cut roughly in half. One analyst says the U.S. dairy complaint is valid. Another says Washington has refused to make a deal.
Fox News reports that President Trump's trade fight with Canada is squeezing the Canadian economy, with U.S. tariffs still in place on roughly $20 billion in goods.
The damage in Canada. Fox cites the Bank of Canada in saying steel exports have fallen by about half since the tariffs took effect, and lumber exports were roughly 20 percent below 2024 levels earlier this year. Production and jobs have dropped in some of the hardest-hit industries. Canadian government data shows consumer prices up 3 percent in August from a year earlier, with groceries up 2.8 percent and transportation up 7.5 percent. The central bank estimates affected goods, including groceries, furniture, electronics and appliances, rose about 6 percent more than similar goods that were not hit by tariffs. Part of that comes from Canada's own retaliatory tariffs on American products.
The old complaint. David Clement of the Consumer Choice Center told Fox the administration's dairy complaints are "completely valid." He said Canada has "exorbitant tariffs" on chicken, turkey, eggs, cheese and milk. He added that differences between American and European access to Canada's market stem from separate trade agreements, including the USMCA negotiated in Trump's first term.
The counterpoint. Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute said more than 99 percent of U.S.-Canada trade was duty-free before 2025, and that negotiators had long tolerated fights over touchy products like dairy to protect the larger relationship. "The Trump administration has so far refused to make the deal," he said. He argued free trade in fertilizer, energy and lumber keeps costs down for American farmers, homebuilders and consumers.
The price pressure at home. Fox says the dispute is playing out weeks before the midterms, with energy prices higher on top of it. Lincicome called the mix a "double whammy" of tariffs and an oil spike tied to the Iran war. He said higher diesel prices act "as kind of another tariff" because diesel moves tractors, trucks and trains.
Where both sides agree. Clement said the partnership "is one of the greatest trading relationships the world has ever known" and should not be "torn down by either side."
Note for readers: the price and export figures come from Canadian sources as cited by Fox. We have not checked them against the Bank of Canada's reports. The report does not include a response from the White House or the Canadian government.