» No new tariffs from Trump a hit to Carney’s campaign

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It’s not quite a presidential pardon, but we could call it a reprieve. Canada didn’t get any additional tariffs as U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated what he called “Liberation Day.”

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Trump has been talking about new tariffs on Canada for months; he even went on a rant during his Rose Garden ceremony about how he sees Canada’s dairy industry as ripping off American farmers.

“Canada, by the way, imposes a 250% to 300% tariff on many of our dairy products. They do the first can of milk, they do the first little carton of milk at a very low price and after that it gets bad,” Trump said.

As with many things Trump says, there’s a kernel of truth and a lot of bluster. We do have high tariffs on American dairy, but only for any imports above a quota set out in the CUSMA deal.

The bottom line is we didn’t get any additional tariffs added on Wednesday.

There are still 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, the same rate as every other country in the world. There are also some goods captured by the fentanyl tariffs Trump imposed last month, but anything covered by CUSMA, or USMCA, as the Americans call it, is tariff free.

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That’s the same thing the Americans said on Wednesday, exempting Canadian goods under CUSMA, while putting tariffs of 34% on China, 37% on Serbia and 49% on Cambodia as just three examples.

“This means USMCA compliant goods will continue to see a 0% tariff,” a White House document stated.

That means no new tariffs on automobiles, auto parts, potash, oil or any other products – for now.

The news should be seen as a positive step for Canada, but it didn’t seem to please Prime Minister Mark Carney who has staked the entire Liberal re-election campaign on a fight with Donald Trump on trade. Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill, Carney tried to keep the elbow-up fighting tone he’s been relying on, despite Canada not getting hit this shift.

“President Trump has just announced a series of measures that are going to fundamentally change the international trading system,” Carney said, while reluctantly acknowledging we were spared.

“Now, in doing so, he has preserved a number of important elements of our relationship, the commercial relationship between Canada and the United States. But the fentanyl tariffs still remain in place. As do the tariffs for steel and aluminum.”

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He went on to talk about fight the Americans with counter measures and further retaliation. If Carney were playing hockey, he might be sent to the penalty box for being an instigator.

Speaking at a rally in Kingston, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said that all of Trump’s tariffs were unjustified, but that we must build an economy that can withstand threats from the Americans.

“We must be an economic fortress that can defend itself, that can stand up for its own people and put Canada first,” he said.

It was similar to what he had said at an early morning event in Toronto Wednesday where he called for Canada’s economy to become unleashed and less dependent on the United States.

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Speaking in Kingston, he said a future Conservative government will be there for autoworkers or anyone hit by the tariffs and unfair trade practices and promised to push for a new trade deal as soon as possible.

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“We will push hard to put an end to these tariffs and get a quick but fair deal that protects our sovereignty, knocks down all the tariffs and allows us to rebuild our military so that we can be a true sovereign nation,” Poilievre said.

Neither Trump’s tariffs, nor his economic threats against Canada are gone right now, and as we all know, they could come back at any moment. But, with Canada avoiding new tariffs on Wednesday, it takes some of the wind;g out of Mark Carney’s sails. It may force the Liberals to talk about other issues.

Which is the last thing they want to do, because on other issue, the Liberal record will have voters looking at Poilievre and the Conservatives.

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