What do tariffs on Canadian goods have to do with me?

As of today, the United States has placed a 25% tariff on everything we import from Canada and Mexico, as well as a 20% tariff on most Chinese goods. Canada has responded with retaliatory tariffs on over $100 billion worth of American goods entering Canada. 

Canada is the US’s second-biggest trading partner. The US exported $349 billion to Canada in 2024, about 17% of all US exports. The US imported $413 billion worth of goods from Canada in 2024.

Let’s take a look at all of the things you might encounter during a typical day that are likely to have been imported from Canada. They’re about to get more expensive. 

You sit down at your kitchen table with a cup of coffee and your morning newspaper and start reading about these new, steep tariffs. The paper in your hands was almost certainly printed on Canadian newsprint. 

🗞️ 99% of the newsprint imported to the US comes from Canada. 

You pour some sweet maple syrup on top of your pancakes. Don't use too much!

🍁 Almost 100% of imported maple syrup comes from our northern neighbors with the maple leaf on their flag.

What’s that delicious smell? Mmmm… bacon. Canadian bacon, actually.

🥓 98% of the “Bellies (streaky) and cuts thereof of swine, salted, in brine, dried or smoked” that we import comes from Canada. 

Off to work. You jump into your car, a 2024 Ford Edge. Your car probably crossed the US/Canadian border several times during its manufacturing process. NAFTA led carmakers to spread their supply chains across North America.

🚗 It turns out that 28% of your car was manufactured in the US and Canada, and it was assembled in Canada. 

Argh! The gas light is on. You better shop around for low gas prices. 

🛢️Canada is the largest source of imported petroleum to the US, totaling $96.5 billion in 2024. 

You settle in to work after arriving at your office. You haven’t even answered your emails when your phone rings with bad news. It’s the contractor you hired to do the extension on your house. Turns out that most of the lumber your contractor will use comes from Canada, and the estimate for the job just went up 25%. Great.

🪵 In 2024, 72% of construction lumber came from the Great White North. 

All of these price increases are stressing you out. After work, you meet up with a friend for some dinner at your favorite pub. You order a burger, fries, and a cold beer. You do a double take at the prices, which are 25% higher than your last visit. Then you realize that Canada is the largest source of beef imports to the US. 

🥩 Last year, the US imported $2.5 billion worth of fresh or chilled beef from Canada, making up 42% of overall imports.

As you bite into a crisp french fry, you ponder the spud’s origin. Yep, Canada again. 

🥔 86% of the volume of imported frozen french fries to the US comes from Canada. 

You start to crush the empty beer can in your hand in frustration, staring at the twisted metal… which reminds you that the US imported $11.3 billion worth of Canadian aluminum last year.

🍺 41% of imported aluminum came from Canada in 2024.

Then you start to wonder: what do we import from Mexico?

Source: United States International Trade Commission; Trade.gov.