Summary
Many of Canada’s tariffs are inefficient and create onerous compliance costs for businesses while producing only marginal government revenue. Some tariffs are useful, however, because they have strategic value in trade negotiation and protect Canadian industries.
In addition to being financially inefficient, bad tariffs increase the costs of production inputs, harming some of Canada’s fastest-growing industries. Many of these tariffs were put in place to protect Canadian industries that no longer exist.
This report argues that, as not all tariffs are the same, Canada ought to eliminate ineffective tariffs while retaining effective ones. Tariffs should be reduced primarily in manufacturing and cleantech to increase competitiveness in these two vital sectors.
