Donald Trump's trade war with Canada is escalating, with the US president imposing tariffs on Canadian exports and Canada retaliating with its own measures, leading to higher prices for American consumers.
Trade talks collapse amid 'unreasonable' demands
Earlier this year, a survey found that Canada, along with Switzerland, was the best-liked country in the world. While such polling may lack scientific rigor, Canadians have a reputation for being friendly and welcoming. However, Trump called the country "difficult and unreasonable" and, in a notable moment, threatened to rename a lake after trade talks collapsed.
Days earlier, Trump had claimed a deal with Canada was imminent, which would avoid new taxes. But no agreement was reached. Instead, trade talks fell apart due to what Canada said were unreasonable, last-minute demands from the US side.
Canada strikes back with retaliatory tariffs
The US tariffs came into effect on Saturday, applied to various Canadian exports including hockey sticks and tongue depressors. Trump had sought more favorable terms on items like steel and aluminum, but Canada did not bow to his demands.
Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, said Canada had been "attacked" and announced retaliatory tariffs on about $20bn worth of US goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances, and farm equipment.
US consumers face surging prices
These actions mean US consumers are seeing surging prices on various products, including toilet paper. As reported by Lauren Aratani, "the US accounts for more than 20% of global tissue consumption despite having only 4% of the world's population." This outsize usage has grown more expensive, as American toilet paper and tissues heavily rely on lumber-rich Canada for raw materials.
Canada's retaliation upset Trump, who on Tuesday claimed the US "is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don't expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer." He also dubbed Canadian negotiators "clowns."
Earlier this week, Trump compared Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, unfavorably to his deceased brother Rob, the scandal-plagued former mayor of Toronto. Meanwhile, JD Vance, at a Republican rally in Maine, claimed that Canada and China are "the two worst countries when it comes to trade policy anywhere in the world."
Vance added that Canada "quite literally would get invaded by a foreign country were it not for the umbrella of protection provided by the United States of America," despite the only country musing about invading Canada being the US, as Trump threatened to annex the nation last year.
In summary, Trump has led the US into a dispute with the world's most popular country, a conflict that could leave Americans, less than three months out from crucial midterm elections, struggling to pay for a roll of toilet paper.
