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Using the bathroom or having a cry is about to become more expensive for North Americans as the US and Canada enter a full-fledged trade war that threatens to flush away decades of peaceful trading between the two nations.
After trade negotiations broke down between the two countries last weekend, Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, vowed to match US tariffs “dollar for dollar” and unveiled a list of nearly 900 American goods that will face 25% to 50% tariffs starting on 8 September.
Paper products are among the hardest-hit sectors, with Canada threatening to put tariffs of between 25% and 50% on “toilet paper or face tissue stock” from 8 September in retaliation for a 50% hike from Washington DC.
Though American toilet paper and tissues are often made domestically, they heavily rely on lumber-rich Canada for raw materials. Procter & Gamble, the owner of Charmin toilet paper, said last year that it would have to increase prices amid tariffs that were in place at the time.
The US imported $328m worth of toilet paper from Canada in 2024, according to the World Bank, making it by far the largest exporter of the product to the US. Retailers including Costco source much of their paper products from the country.
The US accounts for more than 20% of global tissue consumption despite having only 4% of the world’s population. The average American uses 141 rolls of toilet paper per year, making them No 1 for No 2s globally, just ahead of Germans, each using an average of 134 rolls annually.
It’s not just paper products that could rise in price. The trade war highlights the deep economic ties shared between the two countries as consumers continue to worry about inflation on both sides of the border.
US tariffs are specifically affecting Canadian liquor, including popular whiskey brands Crown Royal and Canadian Club, which are currently under a 50% tariff.
While Canada has not introduced a tariff on American liquor, most Canadian provinces have introduced their own bans on American alcohol, in retaliation for earlier tariffs on Canadian products. Donald Trump used these province-wide bans on American alcohol as part of his legal justification for his new tariffs against Canada.
Carney has asked province leaders to consider putting American liquor back on the shelves, though as the Nova Scotia premier Tim Houston told CBC News: “Whether Nova Scotians or Canadians will actually buy it when it’s back on the shelves, that’s a whole other discussion.”
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Trump also said that his new tariffs are in retaliation for Canadian levies against the American dairy industry. He introduced a 50% tariff on nearly all Canadian dairy products, with the exception of Canadian cheese.
In response, Canada has a 50% tariff on American dairy products, along with a 25% tariff on American cheese.
Canada also took a swing at the US fishing industry, with a 25% tariff on American fish and seafood, including frozen lobster. The move prompted Republican senator Susan Collins, facing a tough re-election battle in lobster-capital Maine, to call Trump’s latest move “a mistake”.
A 25% tariff on Canadian cars and auto parts is set to affect the American auto industry, which relies heavily on Canadian parts for manufacturing. Trump has threatened to double the tariff to 50% if a deal isn’t made by 1 January 2027.
With negotiations down the drain, it’s unclear if or when the tariffs will be lifted. But the Trump administration is adamant that “there’s no possible way” the trade dispute with Canada will affect US consumers, according to Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative.
“The fundamentals are good,” he said. “I don’t think this is going to affect anything.”
