Hamilton, ON, August 7, 2026 – The Trump administration’s plan to enact new tariffs on August 19 across a range of Canadian goods has left politicians on both sides of the border scrambling to negotiate a trade deal.
Several Canadian industries could face economic hardship, including steel and aluminum producers and the automotive sector. Various sources close to the negotiations have indicated that some exports, like steel, could be subject to tiered tariffs based on US import quotas.
Canadian dairy farmers are also caught in the crossfire – if Washington gets its way, changes to the allocation of dairy imports to Canada would affect domestic producers.
Meanwhile, some American politicians and lobbyists, particularly those from states affected by retaliatory measures such as US alcohol sales bans and automotive counter tariffs, have criticized the president’s trade policies.
Mark Carney remarked that Canada “has options” in the negotiation process, which could include ending retaliatory tariffs. However, previous concessions by the Prime Minister that saw the removal of some retaliatory tariffs were not met with cooperation by US officials.
McMaster experts are available to discuss the ongoing trade negotiations and the potential effects on key market sectors, consumers, and jobs:
Pau Pujolas (associate professor, Economics) is an expert on international trade and tariffs, macroeconomics, and productivity. He can be reached at pujolasp@mcmaster.ca.
Colin Mang (assistant professor, Economics) is an expert on inflation and labour economics who can speak to the impacts of tariffs of market sectors, jobs, and consumers. He can be reached at colinmang@mcmaster.ca.