As Canadian businesses brace to face tariffs on exported goods to the United States, an accountant suggests owners shift their practices as a tariff free deal seems unlikely.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney signalled most countries will likely have to accept a baseline tariff rate on their goods by the U.S.
“I think your observation that Prime Minister Carney is warming the public up to the idea to expect tariffs is absolutely right,” Lachlan Wolfers, global head of indirect taxes at KPMG International, told BNNBloomberg.ca in a Wednesday interview. “It could also signal that a deal is relatively imminent as well.”
U.S. President Donald Trump recently sent letters to a handful of countries outlining higher tariffs they’ll face if they don’t make trade deals by Aug. 1. Indonesia, which faced a tariff rate of 32 per cent conceded to a 19 per cent tariff rate of their own.
Canada faces a 35 per cent tariff, up from 25 per cent initially imposed in March. Some of Canada’s top exports to the U.S. are subject to different industry-specific tariffs but key exports include oil and petroleum products, cars and trucks.
The United States said it has taken in about US$100 billion so far and could collect $300 billion by the end of the year. The U.S. and United Kingdom previously agreed to 10 per cent tariff rate and Vietnam agreed to a lower-than-promised 20 per cent tariff on many Vietnamese goods. Wolfers suggests a 10 per cent baseline tariff might be the best-case scenario for Canada.
“The U.K. deal is instructive,” said Wolfers. “What it says is 10 per cent is a baseline, which I think is probably a best case scenario for Canada.”
He advised businesses to shift from a defensive to an offensive strategy, focusing on mitigating tariff costs, long-term planning and trading around uncertainties effectively.
“I think the message from a Canadian perspective needs to be, how do we turn from defence into offence? Offence is not necessarily retaliatory tariffs,” said Wolfers. “Offence is around how businesses can take active steps to mitigate their own tariff costs and to trade around this as effectively as possible. What I’ve seen is the uncertainty in markets has created an environment where people haven’t been able to engage in that medium to long term planning. My advice is they now need to do.”
Wolfers noted these are not comprehensive trade agreements, but rather narrow deals designed more for headline impact than substantial trade resolution. The actual rate will depend on ongoing negotiations between Canada and the US.
