The Kamloops & District Chamber of Commerce recognizes the significance and strength of the Canada-U.S. trade relationship, one of the most balanced, successful, and interconnected in the world. These harmful and counter-productive tariffs imposed by the U.S. jeopardize this relationship, hurting businesses on both sides that have spent decades working together successfully through predictable trade policies, and punishing consumers and workers in both countries.
This page provides information to help Kamloops region businesses understand and manage the tariffs and their economic impacts. For questions or comments on the trade dispute, or to share resources for this page, please feel free to contact us at hello@kamloopschamber.ca
UPDATE 03/06/2025: Trump delays tariffs for USMCA-compliant goods for Canada and Mexico, Reuters reports. Live updates here.
ONGOING UPDATES
March 6, 2025: The United States had imposed a tariff of 25% on Canadian goods and 10% on Canadian oil and gas imported into the US as of March 4, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. eastern time. On March 6, the US announced an exemption to tariffs for goods that comply with the Canada-US-Mexico trade pact until April 2, 2025.
As always, we remain very interested in your feedback on the U.S. tariff measures, as well as any concerns you might have regarding Canada’s retaliatory measures. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or comments that you would like to share: acacia@kamloopschamber.ca or fill out our 2025 U.S. Tariff Survey – Understanding Impacts in the Kamloops Region.
News updates are found below:
March 3, 2025: As of today, it has been confirmed by President Donald Trump that there will be U.S. tariffs placed against Canada beginning March 4, 2025. Businesses should take the necessary steps to prepare for potentially disruptive U.S. trade measures as well as retaliatory measures by Canada.
February 3, 2025 – The Kamloops & District Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Prime Minister Trudeau recently shared that President Donald Trump has agreed to delay the planned tariffs on Canadian imports for at least 30 days. These tariffs were set to take effect on Feb 3, which would have also triggered retaliatory tariffs from Canada on U.S. imports. While this pause does not eliminate the potential for tariffs, it does provide a crucial month for continued negotiations to prevent these damaging and counterproductive tariffs from impacting both countries. We will continue to provide updates and resources as new information arises.
WHAT IS A TARIFF?
tar·iff – A tariff is a tax imposed by a country on imported. Learn more from BDC about tariffs and how they work here.
THE TARIFFS
Given the evolving nature of the tariff discussions, we will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available. Please check our “Ongoing Updates” to be on top of the most recent decisions made.
The U.S. Tariffs
The United States imposes tariffs of 25% on Canadian goods and 10% on Canadian oil and gas imports. The new tariffs will apply in addition to any other duties, fees, exactions, and charges applicable to the imports. The proposed tariffs initially scheduled for February 4, 2025 have been paused until March 4, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. eastern time.
A list of products or product codes has not been released yet. The President’s order states that the tariffs apply to “all articles,” implying all goods imported for use or consumption. At no time has the President talked about services. The 10% tariff is on “energy or energy resources” which was defined in a previous Executive Order as “crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal heat, the kinetic movement of flowing water, and critical minerals.”
On Feb 10, the U.S. government signed an executive order instituting a 25% reciprocal tariff on foreign steel and aluminum. The implementation date for these new tariffs is slated for March 12th, 2025.
Please note: The United States had imposed a tariff of 25% on Canadian goods and 10% on Canadian oil and gas imported into the US as of March 4, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. eastern time. On March 6, the US announced an exemption to tariffs for goods that comply with the Canada-US-Mexico trade pact until April 2, 2025.
Canada’s Tariffs
In response, Canada will impose tariffs of 25% on $30 billion in goods imported from the U.S., if and when the U.S. tariffs are applied. The list includes products such as orange juice, peanut butter, wine, spirits, beer, coffee, appliances, apparel, footwear, motorcycles, cosmetics, and pulp and paper. The detailed list of the products impacted is here.
An additional $125 billion worth of U.S. imports will be tariffed at 25% at a later date. The full list of these goods will be made available for a 21-day public comment period prior to implementation, and will include products such as passenger vehicles and trucks, including electric vehicles, steel and aluminum products, certain fruits and vegetables, aerospace products, beef, pork, dairy, trucks and buses, recreational vehicles, and recreational boats.
EXEMPTIONS
The U.S. has said it will allow no exemptions and will not have a “drawback” policy in place for its tariffs on Canadian imports. The Executive Order does provide an exception for some goods that are already in transit, stating imports that were loaded onto their final mode of transit before entering the United States prior to 12:01 a.m. on February 1, 2025 are exempt.
The Canadian government will consider requests for exemption from the tariffs on U.S. imports (known as “remission requests”) for specific circumstances where inputs cannot be sourced domestically or from non-U.S. sources, or where severe adverse impacts to the broader economy may occur. Send your request to fin.remissions-remises.fin@canada.ca, including “U.S. Remission” in the subject line and follow the template laid out on this page.
Duty drawbacks may be available in Canada for eligible imports. The program grants a drawback (refund) of duties that were paid on imported goods when the imported goods are later exported as-is, or when goods are used to produce other goods for export. More info here.
WEBINARS & EVENTS
The Kamloops & District Chamber of Commerce will work with strategic partners to deliver and share educational and information events about the tariffs. See upcoming sessions below:
TRADE TARIFF & DATA
- Canada-U.S. Trade Tracker: a new tool from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce designed to illustrate the ties between our two economies and gives you data to tell your American contacts, clients and customers why this trade war will hurt both sides
- Which Canadian Cities Are Most Exposed to Trump’s Tariffs?: The Canadian Chamber’s Business Data Lab crunches the numbers to assess potential tariff impacts using new localized trade data. Kamloops is on the map! Check it out to find real-time, valuable information.
- Canada Tariff Finder: Quickly get tariff information for specific products and countries where Canada has a Free Trade Agreement
- Everything you want to know about the Canada-U.S. tariffs: A trade war between Canada and the United States is a complicated issue that has consequences for an untold number of people on both sides of the border. Here are the answers to your most common questions, all in one place.
TARIFF RESOURCES
A number of expert articles and resources are available for review and reading. A curated list of some such resources follow:
Recently added:
MITIGATION STRATEGIES
Businesses should use the time before tariffs are implements to understand their supply chain and markets, and how they would be impacted by either export tariffs by the U.S. or Canadian retaliatory input tariffs.
Strategies some exporters may wish to explore include pre-loading exports into the United States before March 4 to build up tariff-free inventory in the US for fulfillment after March 4 if the tariffs materialize, or considering developing a U.S. subsidiary to transfer product to at a lower, transfer price before marking-up and retailing into the US from there. Some exporters to the U.S. may also wish to explore diversifying their markets and developing trading options outside of the U.S. altogether using the resources below.
Importers of U.S. goods should take this month reprieve to understand the country or origin of their inputs, and consider diversifying their supply chain to non-U.S. suppliers, whether from other international markets or from Canadian suppliers.
More reading:
RESOURCES TO DIVERSIFY YOUR EXPORTS BEYOND THE U.S.
- Export Navigator – Export Navigator is a free government-funded program that helps your B.C.-based business by matching you with a dedicated Export Advisor for one-on-one guidance and support.
- Trade Commissioner Service – Offers tailored export advisory services, funding, qualified business contacts, accelerator programs and support at trade events
- Export from Canada – The federal government’s landing page for exporting
- Export Development Canada – Advice, financing, and trade credit insurance
- Canadian Commercial Corporation – Supports businesses to pursue sales to foreign governments at all levels and provides a government-to-government contracting mechanism that de-risks the transaction for both you and your buyer
FINANCING, FUNDING, SUPPORTS & ADVICE
SOURCE LOCALLY = KAMLOOPS REGION BUSINESS DIRECTORY
The Kamloops & District Chamber of Commerce is working towards creating a list for you. Stay tuned!