Tariffs are hurting U.S. manufacturing sector too, economist warns as Canada’s GDP stalls
BNN Bloomberg
Tariffs are a lose-lose for both Canada’s and the United States’ manufacturing sectors, according to a chief economist, following weak GDP data that show factory output weighing on economic growth.
His comments come after Statistics Canada released its November GDP data on Friday pointing to a soft fourth quarter, with the manufacturing sector dragging on the economy after posting a 1.3 per cent decline.
A global shortage of microchips stalled production at a major Canadian auto plant, by 6.4 per cent, creating a “bottleneck” for vehicle and parts output, the agency said.
While Canada’s manufacturing sector is already under pressure from ongoing trade tensions, the fallout is not confined to Canada alone.
“These tariffs are not going to allow for the U.S. to be any more competitive,” Pedro Antunes, chief economist at Signal49 Research, told BNN Bloomberg.
“In fact, they’re hurting our competitiveness North America wide when we think about our positioning on the global stage.”
OPEC+ is likely to keep its pause on oil output increases for March when it meets on Sunday, five delegates told Reuters, even as crude climbs above US$70 a barrel on concern the U.S. could launch a military strike on OPEC member Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a move that could further cripple an island plagued by a deepening energy crisis.
U.S. futures dropped while European shares opened higher on Friday after markets retreated in Asia ahead of a possible announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump on his nominee to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve.