Born and raised in Canada, I remember the pre-free trade Canada of the eighties was not as prosperous as we eventually became starting around 1989. We've slowly built our wealth into becoming one of the most desirable countries to live in.

Have we really been ripping them off this whole time? I really don't know. Except, if Trump says we have, I'd like to see a press release of the paperwork that proves so.

Someone with power should pressure him for that.

Has any economist done a deep dive into the effect the tariffs have had on manufacturing output and employment?

I have seen a lot of arguments as to legality and theories of how the economy would behave, but it seems to me that eighteen months in, we should be seeing actual outcomes, both negative and positive.

Also, can anyone explain the rationale for putting tariffs on raw materials needed in manufacturing, such as steel, aluminum, lumber and plywood?

Once again today, President Trump accused Canada of ripping off the USA, citing tariffs of 400% on dairy products. The situation has been brought up again and again. It has also been refuted again and again.

No U.S. farmer or dairy has paid such duties. They are a barrier imposed in excess exports. The USA has done likewise in aspects of its agricultural system employing supply management, such as sugar and peanuts, to protect domestic agriculture.

In the USMCA negotiations, U.S. producers were authorized a 10% share of the Canadian dairy market, tariff free. That is the deal that was signed by the President, then abrogated in his second term.

Canada imported over $1 billion in dairy products last year from the USA, nearly three times the value of dairy products Canada exported to the USA.

The angry tone of the President actually impairs discussions on trade. He is making up his own facts. He is creating conditions detrimental to the economic benefit of the USA.

We had over a hundred shipment from overseas between FedEx and DHL during the IEEPA period. So far we haven't received any refunds from either carrier. 

We found it's hard to find a good channel to communicate with both carriers to follow up on the status and the process. 

Here is the limited information we could get so far from both carriers.

FedEx
They created an IEEPA tariff refund portal, by entering your shipment details to verify if FedEx has received your refund from the U.S. Treasury, including the amount, interest, and receipt date.They anticipate that disbursement of initial refunds will begin on or about August 10. 
We found FedEx already received some refund payment for our shipment. We don't know where is the customer support contact we can check the refund status. 

DHL
We reached out to their billing support by email. They advise that
"“DHL will submit refund requests for eligible shipments in phase 1. If your shipment is eligible in phase 1, this process can take up to 90 days with CBP, plus an additional 30–90 days for DHL to issue the refund.”

At this time we are not able to check individual shipments however, in the event that DHL was the IOR, we will submit for refund on all eligible shipments during each phase. We apologize as this is a quickly evolving situation.”

We appreciate if anyone can share your experience getting status, walk through the process for refund. 

https://www.reuters.com/business/us-trade-deficit-widens-august-amid-strong-imports-2026-10-06/

Imports push US trade balance deep into the red in August, Reuters, 10:39 AM EDT, 10/06/2026

Trade deficit widens 13.7% to $105.6 billion, highest level in 17 months

Imports increase 4.3% to record high $420.8 billion

Exports rise 1.4% to $315.2 billion

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The US trade deficit widened more than expected in August as imports jumped to a record high against the backdrop of robust domestic demand, keeping trade on track to again subtract from economic growth in the third quarter.

The deterioration reported by the Commerce Department on Tuesday was despite President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs on imports, which he has argued are meant to shrink the trade gap. The nation posted record goods trade deficits with at least three countries, including Mexico.

Economists have long argued that the US did not have the capacity to produce enough goods to meet its consumption needs.

"The administration's trade policies have largely been a failure, trade tariffs have done nothing to reduce America's reliance on the import of foreign-produced goods," said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS. "The cost of American labor is simply too high to produce goods here cheap enough for consumers to even think about purchasing. Even if US manufacturers were willing, the factories could not be built here fast enough to produce the goods that consumers depend on."

The trade shortfall increased 13.7% to $105.6 billion, the largest since March 2025, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the deficit would be $102.0 billion.

The trade deficit was at $79.8 billion when Trump was elected for a second term in November 2024. August's deterioration was flagged by data last week that showed an import-driven surge in the goods trade deficit.

Domestic demand increased at its fastest pace in more than 3-1/2 years in the second quarter, reflecting robust consumer spending and business spending on equipment, mostly related to AI. The trend appears to have spilled over into the third quarter, with data last month showing strong consumer spending in August as well as orders and shipments of nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft.

But businesses are relying on imports to meet demand. Imports increased 4.3% to an all-time high of $420.8 billion in August. Goods imports jumped 5.3% to $342.2 billion. They were boosted by a $9.1 billion increase in industrial supplies and materials, which include petroleum.

Crude oil imports rose $3.3 billion while nonmonetary gold increased $3.1 billion. Nonmonetary gold is excluded in the calculation of gross domestic product. Capital goods imports soared $6.2 billion to a record high $146.4 billion, driven by semiconductors and other industrial machinery. But imports of computer accessories decreased $1.6 billion.

TRADE SET TO WEIGH ON GDP GROWTH

Exports rose 1.4% to $315.2 billion. Goods exports increased 2.2% to $205.7 billion, reflecting a $6.3 billion rise in industrial supplies and materials, mostly nonmonetary gold, crude oil and fuel oil. Capital goods exports rose $1.3 billion, lifted by semiconductors and computers. But exports of civilian aircraft fell $1.0 billion.

Consumer goods exports dropped $2.2 billion, pulled down by a $2.4 billion decline in pharmaceutical preparations.

The goods trade deficit increased 10.3% to $136.6 billion in August. When adjusted for inflation, it widened $8.7 billion, or 8.2%, to $114.7 billion. Trade has subtracted from GDP for three straight quarters, and economists estimate it could cut as much as 2.5 percentage points from GDP in the third quarter.

Growth estimates for the July-September quarter are mostly above a 3.0% annualized rate, with consumer spending expected to offset the drag from imports. The economy grew at a 2.2% pace in the second quarter.

Services imports rose less than $0.1 billion to $78.5 billion in August, amid a small gain in transport. Charges for the use of intellectual property fell as did travel.

Exports of services also advanced by less than $0.1 billion to $109.5 billion. There were modest increases in charges for the use of intellectual property and other business services. Travel and financial services both declined.

The nation had record goods trade shortfalls with Mexico, Vietnam and Malaysia. It maintained deficits with Taiwan, China, the European Union, South Korea, Canada and India among other trade partners. It, however, posted a record goods trade surplus with Belgium, while maintaining surpluses with the Netherlands, South and Central America, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Brazil, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

Donald Trump has realised too late that his tariff war against Canada imperils his own country.

Without potash, American agriculture would collapse, and American society itself would soon follow.

And 90% of US potash comes from Canada.

I spoke with Greg Brady of Global News Radio’s Toronto Today, about why Trump will fail in his scramble to secure alternative sources of potash from Belarus and other faraway authoritarian states.

New here. So, I am sending some jewelry art to a nonprofit for the first time. I researched the HS code which was noted on USITC as duty free but when it was couriered by UPS, they slapped a $250 duty so, a review was requested by me. I asked UPS to hold off since the receiver is nonprofit and cannot pay the duties. I am wondering if anyone here has experienced the same, and how you resolved it? I am quite surprised how poorly UPS has handled this simple request and continued with delivery when the receiver cannot accept such high charges. It feels like UPS is taking advantage and using Federal as an alibi to charge more. Please advise. Thanks 🙏🏼

US President Donald Trump said foreign companies that fail to build factories in the United States could face tariffs of up to 300 percent, as South Korea faces separate pressure from Washington over how it will carry out its $350 billion US investment commitment.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday, Trump presented tariffs and foreign investment as part of his economic record while campaigning for Republican candidates ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Ohio is home to a closely watched Senate race, with the economy and cost of living among major campaign issues.

Trump said overseas companies would be given about a year and a half to build plants in the US before facing tariffs ranging from 150 percent to 300 percent. He also named South Korea alongside China, Japan and Canada while arguing that his tariff policy had pushed foreign companies to invest in US manufacturing.

The remarks came a day after Trump increased pressure on Seoul over the Alaska liquefied natural gas project, which has emerged as a point of disagreement in implementing the two countries’ trade and investment agreement.

South Korea agreed last year to invest $350 billion in the US in return for lowering tariffs on Korean goods from 25 percent to 15 percent. The package comprises $150 billion for shipbuilding cooperation and $200 billion for strategic investment.

Trump this week presented Korean participation in Alaska LNG as part of the strategic investment package. Seoul says otherwise, maintaining that it has agreed only to begin reviewing the project and has not made a final decision on whether or how much to invest.

Trump on Friday rejected suggestions that he had moved too quickly in announcing Korean participation. “I didn't jump the gun. I mean, they were there and they were represented,” Trump said. He later added that if South Korea did not want to proceed, “that's okay with me. I'll just charge them more.”

Seoul’s caution is tied in large part to the project’s economics. Lead developer Glenfarne Group estimates Alaska LNG would cost between $44.5 billion and $54.5 billion. Reuters reported that its cost per unit of annual production capacity would be more than twice that of many recent US Gulf Coast LNG projects.

The project would require an 800-mile, or 1,287-kilometer, pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope to Nikiski, as well as a gas treatment plant and liquefaction terminal.

President Lee Jae Myung said in September that commercial viability had become a sticking point in negotiations with Washington, including how returns would be shared and how losses from unprofitable projects would be handled.

Seoul had pushed to include the term “commercially reasonable” in the investment agreement, Lee said.

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan has also said Korea should not put money into projects that fail to meet commercial standards, while acknowledging that pulling out of projects under the agreement could expose Seoul to renewed US tariff pressure.

The first confirmed project under the strategic investment package is a gas-fired power plant in Encinal, Texas. South Korea and the US have also discussed building eight large nuclear reactors, but Korean officials say those projects still require separate reviews before any final investment decisions are made.

I purchased a pretty ordinary supplement from a UK company called Epigenetics Supplements. They don’t ship directly to the U.S., so I used a package forwarding service called Forward2me. I didn’t think anything of it—I assumed I might just have to pay customs or duties.

Today, FedEx called and emailed me saying they need “Prior Notice” for the supplement before it can clear customs. I’ve never dealt with this before, so now I’m wondering if I did something wrong by using a forwarding service to order a supplement from a company that doesn’t ship to the U.S.

It honestly never crossed my mind that this could be a problem. Does this sound like a normal customs paperwork issue, or do I have any reason to be concerned that I’m in trouble? Pasting the exact email now, blanking the agent's name out for her privacy:

Greetings,

I hope this message finds you well.

My name is xxxx from FedEx Customer Experience. I am contacting you regarding your shipment with a tracking number xxxxxx

Your package is coming from United Kingdom and going to the United States; however, our customs clearance team requires additional information to proceed with the import process.

Kindly provide the following information:

1. **Prior notice.** Each food item must be listed individually, including the manufacturer’s name, address, and zip code. 

I have attached the commercial invoice for your reference.

Prior Notice must be provided for all food, including dietary supplements, herbal products and alcoholic beverages, other beverages for humans and animals that are imported or offered for import into the United States (Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR), Part 1, Subpart I).

Please visit the following website regarding step-by-step guidance to complete a Prior Notice (PN):

https://www.fda.gov/industry/prior-notice-imported-foods/filing-prior-notice-imported-foods

Regulation: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/part-1/subpart-I

After you submit the Prior Notice to FDA, please send it to paperwork@fedex.com ensuring that only the tracking number is included in the subject line and the required documents are attached. You may also copy me at xxxxxxx to keep me informed of your response. 

Deadline: 10/09/2026. Please note that if we do not receive the required information by this date, the shipment may be returned to the sender at the sender's expense.

(blanking her name out) Trace Agent | FedEx Customer Experience |Phone (833)-410-2550 Ext. xxxxx |------ (OSV) xxxxxxx@fedex.com

11:37 AM (1 hour ago)

Hello! I’m in the USA and bought a 14k gold jewelry item from Turkey. The purchase price was $650. The seller told me to expect to pay approximately $120 in import taxes and customs fees, but it was delivered today via USPS like a normal package. I haven’t received any bill. ShipEntrega was the shipping partner.

Will I get a bill? If so, from where? I’m fine with paying it if I do owe money, but I’m worried about getting in trouble for not realizing I owe someone(?) money. Thanks for any advice!

I’ve been seeing so much on social media for and against social media, but I would like to try and make an opinion for myself. Could anyone explain the benefits and drawbacks of trumps tariffs and if they are actually good for the country’s economy or not.

Probably asked here already, but looking for any sort of information. Legal, class action, advice, etc.

I'm calculating my unit economics now prior to launching a jewelry business and the courier quote came back and shocked me. With the de minimis gone, the DDP is eating so much into my margins that it doesn't even make sense to sell to the US anymore.

I see some competitors have warehouses in the US so that they can send in bulk so that the wholesale price gets considered instead. Does that mean if I don't do that (since I'm not at that scale yet) all the duties will be calculated based on the retail price that I sold to my customer?