Canada's envoy warns Trump tariffs are inflating the cost of doing business

Canada's ambassador to the United States, Mark Wiseman, took the stage at the B20 summit in Washington on Wednesday with a blunt read on Trump's tariffs: they make everything more expensive to build.

Wiseman, a former BlackRock executive who took the ambassador post in February, told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce gathering that uncertainty raises the cost of capital. Building a plant, adding a ship or funding R&D gets harder when companies can't see the rules ahead, he said.

The numbers back up the friction. The two countries traded roughly $570 billion in goods in the first nine months of 2026, according to U.S. Census Bureau data — up from the same stretch in 2025 but below the equivalent period in each of the three Biden years. U.S. customs duties on Canadian imports hit $10 billion in 2025, up from $400 million in 2024, per the Congressional Research Service.

Negotiations between Washington and Ottawa restarted after collapsing in August, now centered on steel and autos. Trump has slapped duties of up to 50% on certain Canadian goods, and Canada has hit back with retaliatory measures aimed at billions in U.S. exports. Trump has defended the tariffs as protection for American manufacturers and workers, accusing Canada of trade practices that hurt U.S. exporters.

Fresh research adds pressure from the consumer side. An October study by New York Fed researchers found nearly 90% of tariff costs landed on U.S. importers, with about a quarter of the increases eventually showing up in consumer goods prices and more expected in 2027. Labor Department data showed consumer prices climbed a higher-than-expected 0.4% in October.

Wiseman pushed for scrapping tariffs imposed under Sections 232 and 338 of U.S. trade law, saying clarity would let businesses commit to long-term investments. His verdict: 'The sooner, the better.' He noted Canada and the U.S. have had comprehensive free trade since 1988 and said Ottawa wants to get 'as close as we can to free trade.' Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday the Trump administration is still Canada's main negotiating partner.