New U.S. Tariffs in Context

From economics.bmo.com

The White House announced that the U.S. will impose 50% tariffs on a wide spectrum of Canadian goods, taking effect August 19th. The U.S. will use Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which is an emergency trade authority that gives the President power to impose additional duties of up to 50% on imports from countries that “discriminate against or impose unequal burdens on American commerce”. In this case, the areas in question are alcohol, dairy and autos. Some quick notes: • Tariffs will not apply to energy, potash, critical minerals, fish and goods already subject to tariffs under Section 232. • The new ... (full story)