There has been a lot of emotion over the past week or so in the latest battle in the trade war between Canada and the United States . Promising Canada-U.S. trade talks ended without a deal on Aug. 21, triggering the imposition of section 338 tariffs on a range of Canadian products and impending retaliatory tariffs on a range of U.S. products.
The numbers sound big — 50 per cent tariffs on billions of dollars of trade — but remember that in the context of the overall national trade relationship, it is not a material percentage.
That is not to say it isn’t impactful. Many Canadian businesses are being immediately impacted and that means jobs are at risk. I certainly empathize with those businesses and the struggles they are facing; let’s not diminish that in any way.
But the tariffs are not material in a broader, national sense. We export US$450 billion of goods and services to the U.S. from Canada each year and the 338 tariffs are impacting US$20 billion, or about five per cent of the total trade. A similar dynamic exists for the U.S. and the retaliatory tariffs.
Of course, the latest tariffs add to the 232 metal and metal derivative product tariffs that were impacting Canadian businesses at about the same level, perhaps slightly more.
This means roughly 10 per cent to 15 per cent of Canadian exports are impacted by U.S. tariffs, including the latest round. In other words, more than 80 per cent of Canadian exports to the U.S. are not impacted by tariffs.
So, let’s try to take a deep breath and keep a practical lens. Trying to unsettle an opponent with pointed taunts is a common negotiating tactic. The key is not to rise to the bait.
There absolutely are industries being deeply impacted and we need to help them.
Let’s stay focused on making the right deal for two countries that, frankly, do not have a trade problem. After literally decades of free trade between our countries, we have what I believe is the most balanced trade portfolio in the world.
Canada exports $450 billion to the U.S., the U.S. exports $425 billion to Canada, a gap of five per cent. That means trade is 95 per cent balanced; you don’t get much better than that.
Canada is not the problem here, so let’s address the irritants such as they exist for each country and move on.
Will we end up with some level of tariff in certain industries? Possibly. Do we want that? Of course not.
But we have lower costs in Canada, higher productivity in the manufacturing sector notably and a weaker dollar that closes the competitiveness gap quickly on a tariff of less than 10 per cent.
In the auto sector, the Canadian vehicle plants of more than one automaker are their most productive in the world. I know Linamar Corp.’s Canadian plants are our most productive in the world. Most productive in the world. Can we close a gap created by a tariff? You bet.
North American gross domestic product ( GDP ) is less than 30 per cent of the world’s GDP. There is a big world out there and we should stop fighting over the $35 trillion of North American trade and start going after the $120 trillion globally, where we can achieve so much more if we’re united than we can in a fragmented approach.
Our North American free trade agreement is robust and generating enormous economic benefit for all three countries. Let’s strengthen and extend it further.
A recent proposed amendment to extend the agreement beyond its current 2036 end date was not supported by the U.S. That is not to say we will not come to an agreement, and I believe we will.
The deal is still fully in force, will be for at least the next 10 years and will continue long beyond that so our deeply integrated supply chains can continue to optimize volume economies and technological advances that come from concentration of supply.
Ultimately, let’s try not to forget that Americans are our family, friends, customers and suppliers. We have deep, personal relationships that transcend the border and certainly transcend the political footballs of today’s geopolitical environment.
We like each other and we do business the same way. Geography has brought us together and, as was famously said in the past, relationships have cemented our bonds. We will not, can not, let this brief moment in our political histories break that apart.
Linda Hasenfratz is the executive chair of the board of Linamar Corp.
Linda Hasenfratz: Keep calm and trade on
2026-09-01 10:00:35
