Yes, we’re talking about tariffs again. 

Many of the world’s countries are awaiting the impact of new American tariffs, which are slated to take effect on Thursday.

One country, however, is experiencing it now. The Trump Administration bumped up tariffs on Canadian goods to 35%, and that new rate went into effect on Friday.

Trump said he made the change, in part, because of Canada’s failure to curb the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the U.S. 

Now 35% sounds intense, but a lot of Canadian goods are actually exempt from the increase because of a trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.  

It’s kind of confusing to know exactly what these tariffs mean for our neighbor to the north, so we asked Thomas Davidoff, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, to help us understand. 

Guest:

• Thomas Davidoff, an associate professor in the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business.

Related stories: 

• With new tariffs hitting, WA tallies costs of trade war | The Seattle Times
• Murray says Trump's Canadian tariffs could cause costly rift with WA - KUOW

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes.

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.