The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Nov. 8, edition that Donald Trump calls tariff "the most beautiful word" in the dictionary. The Globe's Jason Kirby writes that Mr. Trump has threatened to impose a universal duty on all imports into the country -- sometimes on the campaign trail he said the tariff rate would be 10 per cent, other times it was 20 per cent, depending on the speech -- in addition to much higher tariffs on imports from China.
What Mr. Trump has yet to make clear is whether the universal tariff would apply to Canada. If it does, Canadian exports are likely to take a hit. Assuming a broad-based tariff of 10 per cent is applied on goods and services from this country to the U.S., export volumes to America could be reduced by nearly 5 per cent by early 2027, compared with current forecasts, according to a recent note by Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Marc Ercolao. Trade has been stagnant over the past year, despite a strong U.S. economy. Canadian merchandise exports to the U.S. now make up about 77 per cent of total exports, the highest level since 2006. This sets Canada up for a challenging period as businesses and politicians prepare for an unpredictable future with Mr. Trump back in the White House.
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