We are less than 24 hours away from tariffs being placed on Mexico and Canada.
Barring any 11th-hour changes, President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs will go into effect tomorrow. Today, we are keeping an eye on the developments as high-level meetings take place, including retaliation from our neighbors to the north.
Canada’s Energy Minister, John Wilkinson claims that any response will be regionally fair, but his critics argue energy tariffs would hurt Canada’s energy-producing regions like Alberta.
Wilkinson says that Canada’s response will focus on products that hurt Americans more than Canadians.
This week, President Trump’s Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick told lawmakers the tariffs can be avoided.
He said that if Mexico and Canada take swift action to stop the flow of fentanyl across the border the tariffs will be stopped.
Lutnick said he has advised the President to approach tariffs country by country, repeatedly calling for a restoration on trade reciprocity. If confirmed, Lutnick would be in charge of 47,000 employees responsible for U.S. exports, anti-dumping, and anti-subsidy duties, and more.
These trade war concerns come as experts draw attention to the impact of a strong U.S. dollar on exports.
A CoBank economist told AgriPulse that a strong dollar can hurt U.S. exports, with U.S goods becoming more expensive for foreign buyers as a result.
While the dollar has come down from highs seen in 2022, tomorrow’s expected 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico could bring the U.S. dollar value back up.
