In the end, not even the furniture could be saved: U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest barrage of tariffs — encompassing a 10 per cent levy on softwood lumber and timber and a 25 per cent levy on cabinets, bathroom vanities, and upholstered furniture — has plunged the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific trading partners into further uncertainty, with many racing to conclude bilateral trade agreements to dodge future bouts of surprise tariffs.
This latest round of levies is set to come into effect on October 14. The tariff rate will increase on January 1 if exporting countries do not reach a deal with the U.S. The White House said, however, that any tariffs on wood products from Japan — which recently signed a trade deal with the U.S. — would not exceed 15 per cent, offering some relief.
According to the CBC, the bulk of Canadian softwood exports are shipped to the U.S., “representing over half the market for the more than C$10 billion industry, which is largely centred in B.C.”
Trump also imposed tariffs on heavy trucks and pharmaceutical products this week, although a deal announced Tuesday with Pfizer — which will see the company invest a further US$70 billion into U.S.-based manufacturing and research, in exchange for an exemption from looming tariffs — took some of the “bite” out of that measure.
Asian pharma stocks, including Japan’s Sumitomo Pharma and South Korea’s SK Biopharmaceuticals, slid after Trump’s announcement but ticked up after news of the Pfizer deal.
Details hazy surrounding provisional South Korea–U.S. deal
Trump’s latest broadside underlines the fragility of pre-existing trade ties and, for some, heightens the urgency of inking a deal with Washington to offset any further tariff ambushes.
South Korea and the U.S. announced a provisional trade agreement in July, but officials are still working to “fine-tune” the agreement. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is reportedly pushing Seoul to increase the US$350 billion it previously agreed to invest in the U.S.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told Reuters last month, however, that, “if we were to withdraw $350 billion... [and] invest this all in cash in the U.S., South Korea would face a situation as it had in the 1997 financial crisis.”
Last week, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Anita Anand, met with her South Korean counterpart in New York City, where the two ministers discussed “advancing bilateral trade, investment, innovation and defence sector co-operation,” and furthering both countries' “economic diversification objectives,” a shared goal spurred by Trump’s second-term trade policies.
Washington announced last month that it was starting public consultations for the planned 2026 review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. Ottawa launched similar consultations on September 20.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said last month that, this fall, the government will look to "strengthen existing relationships and open new markets for Canadian businesses, particularly in Asia,” through a formal trade diversification strategy
