Tariffs Catch-All

[altmin]

The Daily — Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada, February 2025

In February, the preliminary number of international arrivals to Canada by air and automobile was 4.1 million, down 10.9% from February 2024. This was the first year-over-year decline since March 2021.

www150.statcan.gc.ca

In February, the number of Canadian-resident return trips by automobile from the US totalled 1.2 million, a steep decline (-23.0%) from the same month in 2024 (Chart 4). February 2025 marked the second consecutive month of year-over-year decline and the second decline observed since March 2021.

On Monday, February 17, 2025 (Family Day in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan; Heritage Day in Nova Scotia; Islander Day in Prince Edward Island; Louis Riel Day in Manitoba), the highest number of return trips by automobile from the US per day (78,000) was observed. This was 119.8% higher than the daily average for the remaining Mondays in February (35,500).

 

[ChileG]

Trump tariffs of 25% on steel and aluminium come into effect globally as Europe says it will retaliate – as it happened

Brussels countermeasures to target €26bn of US goods from April while UK takes ‘pragmatic’ approach; US tariffs cover wide range of household goods such as tin foil

www.theguardian.com

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the global response to Donald Trump’s new tariffs. The 25% global tariffs on steel and aluminium came into effect at midnight ET “with no exceptions or exemptions”.

The European Commission responded almost immediately, saying it would impose counter tariffs on €26bn ($28bn) worth of US goods from next month.

“We deeply regret this measure,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement about the US tariffs, as Brussels announced it would be “launching a series of countermeasures” in response to the “unjustified trade restrictions”.

Australian deputy prime minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday the lack of exemptions was “really disappointing”, calling tariffs “an act of kind of economic self-harm”. He told radio station 2GB:



...

Community Union: Tariffs 'hugely damaging and threaten jobs'​

Community Union, Britain’s steelworkers’ union says the tariffs are “hugely damaging” and threaten jobs – and “self-defeating” for the United States.

Alasdair McDiarmid, Community’s assistant general secretary, said:

More markets US businesses will be losing. Can anyone explain how this will in any way be a net benefit for the USA?
(It’s a rhetorical question, even the Trumpers here know the answer is, “of course not”).

 

[altmin]

Canadians’ travel to U.S. continues to drop amid weak loonie, tariffs - National | Globalnews.ca

Air Canada has announced a decrease of 10 per cent in flights to three sun destinations, while Flair Airlines says U.S.-bound flights are down by 24 per cent for March.

globalnews.ca

Airlines and travel companies have seen bookings to the United States plummet as Canadians rethink their plans amid anger over the trade war set off by U.S. President Donald Trump as well as a weak loonie.

Travel agency Flight Centre Travel Group Canada says leisure bookings to American cities dropped 40 per cent in February from the same month in 2024. One in five customers cancelled their trips to the U.S. over the past three months.

Now that sweeping tariffs on most goods headed to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico are in place, travellers show no signs of reversing that trend.

“We’re making those choices to travel to destinations that really align more with our values,” said Flight Centre spokeswoman Amra Durakovic.

Air Canada announced last month it would reduce flights by 10 per cent to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona starting in March — usually go-to hot spots during spring break season.

WestJet said in an email there has been a shift in bookings from the U.S. to other sun destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean.

The number of U.S.-bound flights from budget carrier Flair Airlines is down 24 per cent year-over-year for March, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Air Transat flight figures fell 12 per cent, while Sunwing Airlines scrapped all its U.S. flights.

...

Roughly 3.5 million Canadians visit Florida each year — half a million of them for months at a time — spending about $6.5 billion, according to a 2018 economic impact study by Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service.

 

[ChileG]

Canadians’ travel to U.S. continues to drop amid weak loonie, tariffs - National | Globalnews.ca

Air Canada has announced a decrease of 10 per cent in flights to three sun destinations, while Flair Airlines says U.S.-bound flights are down by 24 per cent for March.

globalnews.ca

Airlines and travel companies have seen bookings to the United States plummet as Canadians rethink their plans amid anger over the trade war set off by U.S. President Donald Trump as well as a weak loonie.

Travel agency Flight Centre Travel Group Canada says leisure bookings to American cities dropped 40 per cent in February from the same month in 2024. One in five customers cancelled their trips to the U.S. over the past three months.

Now that sweeping tariffs on most goods headed to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico are in place, travellers show no signs of reversing that trend.

“We’re making those choices to travel to destinations that really align more with our values,” said Flight Centre spokeswoman Amra Durakovic.

Air Canada announced last month it would reduce flights by 10 per cent to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona starting in March — usually go-to hot spots during spring break season.

WestJet said in an email there has been a shift in bookings from the U.S. to other sun destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean.

The number of U.S.-bound flights from budget carrier Flair Airlines is down 24 per cent year-over-year for March, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Air Transat flight figures fell 12 per cent, while Sunwing Airlines scrapped all its U.S. flights.

...

Roughly 3.5 million Canadians visit Florida each year — half a million of them for months at a time — spending about $6.5 billion, according to a 2018 economic impact study by Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service.

More customer US businesses are losing. Why do MAGAs think Trump is a good businessman again? Because he only bankrupted three casinos?

 

[superrific]

Canadians’ travel to U.S. continues to drop amid weak loonie, tariffs - National | Globalnews.ca

Air Canada has announced a decrease of 10 per cent in flights to three sun destinations, while Flair Airlines says U.S.-bound flights are down by 24 per cent for March.

globalnews.ca

Airlines and travel companies have seen bookings to the United States plummet as Canadians rethink their plans amid anger over the trade war set off by U.S. President Donald Trump as well as a weak loonie.

Travel agency Flight Centre Travel Group Canada says leisure bookings to American cities dropped 40 per cent in February from the same month in 2024. One in five customers cancelled their trips to the U.S. over the past three months.

Now that sweeping tariffs on most goods headed to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico are in place, travellers show no signs of reversing that trend.

“We’re making those choices to travel to destinations that really align more with our values,” said Flight Centre spokeswoman Amra Durakovic.

Air Canada announced last month it would reduce flights by 10 per cent to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona starting in March — usually go-to hot spots during spring break season.

WestJet said in an email there has been a shift in bookings from the U.S. to other sun destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean.

The number of U.S.-bound flights from budget carrier Flair Airlines is down 24 per cent year-over-year for March, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Air Transat flight figures fell 12 per cent, while Sunwing Airlines scrapped all its U.S. flights.

...

Roughly 3.5 million Canadians visit Florida each year — half a million of them for months at a time — spending about $6.5 billion, according to a 2018 economic impact study by Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service.

It ain't just Canadians. The American tourism industry is going to get hammered.

And Las Vegas? I can't imagine casino owners are feeling great right now. Hey waiters and waitresses in Vegas, how are you enjoying your "no taxes on tips"? Oh, right, that was bullshit. Meanwhile, tax on tips not given really doesn't matter.

 

[nycfan]

American Whiskey, Motorcycles to Be Hit With 50% Tariffs in Europe​

EU response to Trump’s steel and aluminum levies takes aim at politically sensitive products​

Gift link —> https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/a...78?st=Ad21ZQ&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink

“… Starting April 1, the EU plans 50% tariffs on imports of American whiskey, motorcycles and motorboats. Other products facing new or raised import duties at the beginning of the month include cranberries, garden umbrellas, tablecloths and handkerchiefs.

A second set of levies is due to take effect in mid-April. An initial list includes goods ranging from American chewing gum to poultry, white chocolate, soybeans, carpets and watermelons. The bloc said it would consult with member states and stakeholders before completing that list. …”

 

[Healing]

American Whiskey, Motorcycles to Be Hit With 50% Tariffs in Europe​

EU response to Trump’s steel and aluminum levies takes aim at politically sensitive products​

Gift link —> https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/a...78?st=Ad21ZQ&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink

“… Starting April 1, the EU plans 50% tariffs on imports of American whiskey, motorcycles and motorboats. Other products facing new or raised import duties at the beginning of the month include cranberries, garden umbrellas, tablecloths and handkerchiefs.

A second set of levies is due to take effect in mid-April. An initial list includes goods ranging from American chewing gum to poultry, white chocolate, soybeans, carpets and watermelons. The bloc said it would consult with member states and stakeholders before completing that list. …”

So many of those items make me go “huh?” that they must be incredibly targeted at red districts, yeah? I get whiskey and motorcycles, but gum? White chocolate (what heathen consumes that, as is?)? Handkerchiefs (sickos)?

 

[superrific]

The Europeans need to recalibrate their tariff list now that Mitch is retiring. Nobody in Kentucky matters.

 

[superrific]

So many of those items make me go “huh?” that they must be incredibly targeted at red districts, yeah? I get whiskey and motorcycles, but gum? White chocolate (what heathen consumes that, as is?)? Handkerchiefs (sickos)?

I doubt it. This is just how trade works. It's incredibly detailed. They are aiming to hurt Republicans politically, but that's far from the only consideration.

Part of the calculation is going to be the existence or non-existence of domestic suppliers to pick up the slack. If there's a European motorcycle company ready to ramp up production, then the tariff on Harley won't hurt nearly as much. In some cases, it might even function as an infant industry protection, which is normally seen as a "good tariff" (compared to others -- not necessarily good in an absolute sense).

Also, the tariffed goods should have high elasticity of demand. Tariffing medical devices isn't a good idea: people need a new knee when they break their original, and they don't need it before then and they aren't going to put it off. So if you put a 50% tariff on a medical device, it will raise costs for consumers without hurting the medical device manufacturer much in the short term.

But handkerchiefs? Few people *need* those. Slap a 25% tariff and consumption likely goes down by a lot.

 

[Centerpiece]

I do the farmer blow, so I’m good on hankies.

 

[BlooVooDoo]

Brown-Forman (parent corp of Jack Daniels) is down 7% today after announcement of European tariffs.

The bourbon industry was arguably ready for a retraction. This trade war bullshit is going to absolutely wreck it. I know some people in the business (the distilling science side) and they are very worried about how this ends.

 

[BlooVooDoo]

It ain't just Canadians. The American tourism industry is going to get hammered.

And Las Vegas? I can't imagine casino owners are feeling great right now. Hey waiters and waitresses in Vegas, how are you enjoying your "no taxes on tips"? Oh, right, that was bullshit. Meanwhile, tax on tips not given really doesn't matter.

The US is again hosting three (3 of 24) F1 races in Vegas, Austin and Miami this year. Piss enough people off (a lot of Europeans) and those could all lose money. I think revenue for the Vegas race last year was north of $700 million.

Correction: the economic impact of the race was almost $1 billion.

F1 is now Las Vegas’ largest annual event, reporting $934m economic impact in Year 2

The total of $934 million is over half a billion dollars down on the estimated economic impact from the first year in Las Vegas.

www.nytimes.com

 

[superrific]

The US is again hosting three (3 of 24) F1 races in Vegas, Austin and Miami this year. Piss enough people off (a lot of Europeans) and those could all lose money. I think revenue for the Vegas race last year was north of $700 million.

Is that revenue to Vegas or revenue to F1? I would think that the effect would be larger on more casual trips. For instance, are people going to skip the World Cup because they are pissed at the US? And someone who would travel to an F1 event is probably an enthusiast who might not let temporary frustrations interfere with their hobby.

But that's all intuition. I don't know anything about the relative elasticities of subcategories of the tourism industry.

 

[UNCatTech]

It ain't just Canadians. The American tourism industry is going to get hammered.

And Las Vegas? I can't imagine casino owners are feeling great right now. Hey waiters and waitresses in Vegas, how are you enjoying your "no taxes on tips"? Oh, right, that was bullshit. Meanwhile, tax on tips not given really doesn't matter.

Watched a segment the other day that provided information showing that no taxes on tips, even if implemented, didn't make any real difference. A better idea is eliminating the sub-minimum wage all together.

 

[nycfan]

Walmart Gets an Earful From China Over Response to Trump Tariffs​

Beijing, under economic pressure, seeks to help local factories facing requests to cut prices​

https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/china-summons-walmart-for-talks-as-suppliers-complain-over-tariffs-dcafe7c4?mod=mhp

“… Chinese authorities summoned Walmart officials for a dressing-down this week after receiving complaints that the retailer was pressuring some Chinese suppliers to cut prices to absorb the cost of U.S. tariffs, state media and people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

…
The president’s decision to add a 20% tariff on Chinese imports on top of previous tariffs has put U.S. retailers such as Walmart in a tough spot. Raising prices risks the ire of Trump and American consumers, but getting suppliers to bear the burden isn’t simple either.

China, too, is under pressure as tariffs inflict pain on its export-focused economy, which is grappling with overproduction and weak demand at home. U.S. businesses have been reducing their dependence on China in response to worsening relations, a trend that developed during Trump’s first term and has accelerated since.

Many companies are shifting production to Southeast Asia and elsewhere. For sensitive high-tech goods, some U.S. companies are already pursuing an “anything but China” strategy.

In recent weeks, Walmart and other U.S. retailers have told some suppliers they want discounts on China-made products, according to industry executives. Some suppliers have also been asked to move production outside of China, they say. …”

——
Wal-Mart has a long and storied history of squeezing their vendors.

 

[superrific]

Wal-Mart has a long and storied history of squeezing their vendors.

That they do. I have my doubts they can squeeze Xi.

 

[BlueSteel]

As long as Calla and OG are good with all this winning, then I am too. Obviously they know much more than we do about the chess play Trump is masterminding here. Let the good times roll! Weeeeehooooooooooooooooo!

 

[BlooVooDoo]

Wal-Mart has a long and storied history of squeezing their vendors.

And in ways that are rarely to the benefit of customers.

 

[nycfan]

Pubs seeking a scapegoat …

 

[CeruleanBlueHeel]

I leaned from Rachel Maddow last night that the Republican House inserted language into budget bill, redefining a single day as lasting the end of this session of Congress, applicable solely to the emergency tariff provision Trump is using. This was done when the Democrats brought forth a provision that Congress could override Trump tariffs with vote that must take place with 15 days of said emergency provision. A House vote would have at least put them on record as supporting or opposing the Trump tariffs. Truly feckless and self-serving House republicans. The declared emergency Trump uses, BTW, is thwart fentanyl smuggling.