The prices Iowans pay for gasoline and groceries are already high, but new tariffs on goods coming from Canada will push costs still higher on everything from alcohol to auto parts to lumber. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says with the trade talks collapsing over the weekend, Canada responded to President Trump’s threats with a dollar-for-dollar duty on U-S goods. The talks fell apart Friday night and those tariffs took effect on Saturday.
Grassley says the president imposed a 50-percent tariff on some 28-billion dollars worth of Canadian goods, and Grassley laments how the 2020 free trade deal, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, is being left behind.
President Trump used harsh language in his Truth Social post on Monday. Grassley says this tactic could be harmful in multiple ways.
Reports show Iowa businesses ship more products to Canada than anywhere else. Iowa exports nearly five-billion dollars worth of goods to Canada each year, while Iowa imports more than three-billion dollars in goods from Canada. Mexico is Iowa’s second-largest trading partner.
