Condo renovators stung by tariffs on essential materials

In a trade war where everything from Canada’s economy, borders, resources and even sovereignty appear to be up for grabs the downstream effects of tariffs and counter-tariffs are also showing up in everything from new home construction to commercial renovations.

The tariff policies and targets of the United States seem to change chaotically from day to day, but with the latest block of U.S. tariffs now set to be imposed on April 2, the Canadian position has been to keep reciprocal tariffs on $30-billion worth of U.S. exports until U.S. President Donald Trump ends all trade actions. That creates a two-level problem for Canadian importers: who will pay for the extra 25 per cent duties on orders made before the tariffs came into effect but that haven’t crossed the border yet, and what to do about the potential drop-off of orders now that tariffs appear here to stay.