The United States and Canada are nearing a critical deadline for a trade deal. In two days, the U.S. will impose a 50% tariff on a wide range of Canadian goods.
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President Donald Trump announced the move back on July 20 and said the tariffs would take effect in 30 days, meaning Wednesday, Aug. 19 is the day.
The tariffs are expected to impact the price of consumer products like alcohol and dairy products, as well as construction materials like cement and lumber.
Excluded in the tariffs are energy products, potash, fish and certain minerals.
You may remember, the announcement of these tariffs in July led Canada to pull out of a scheduled joint opening ceremony for the Gordie Howe International Bridge. The bridge opened to vehicle traffic on July 27.
Both the U.S. and Canada are reportedly working on a trade deal before the Aug. 19 deadline. Reports say that officials from both sides have spoken several times in the last few weeks and will continue trade talks over the next few days.
However, there's uncertainty from companies and consumers that increased tariffs will make things harder to get and more expensive.
“Oh, we talked to a lot of executives. We walked a lot of shop floors across the state. And, certainty in the supply chain, certainty in business planning is what they really strive for. And, they don’t have that when there’s a really kind of uncertain trade and tariff scenario," Glenn Stevens Jr., from the Detroit Regional Chamber, said.
“As like a consumer that buys like say on the daily like dairy and stuff like that, groceries, it kind of affects us when we’re trying to go buy something. And, some of us here in the city, like there’s some people that have low income," Gaith Alhalmy, a Detroit resident, said.
