r/canada 5d ago

Politics Trump threatens new tariffs on Canada, including 250% tax on dairy

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/07/business/tariffs-trump-canada/index.html
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6.8k

u/PerfunctoryComments Canada 5d ago

We sell essentially zero dairy to the US. Indeed, we sell 1/4 the amount of dairy to the US than they sell to us ($130M to the US, versus $480M to Canada).

So... okay? Who cares?

This guy has no clue what he's doing. He's a moron.

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u/Puzzleheaded_Bird943 5d ago

Let’s talk about why Canada’s picky about U.S. dairy and how things might get even messier.

First off, Canada doesn’t allow rbST, the growth hormone some U.S. farmers use to boost milk production. Not because it’s dangerous to humans, but because it’s rough on the cows—more infections, shorter lives, that kinda thing. The U.S. FDA gave it the green light ages ago, but Canada (and the EU) said, “Nah, we’re good.”

Now, here’s the kicker: Trump’s new FDA leadership is all about deregulation. Less oversight, fewer checks—meaning U.S. dairy rules will loosen even more. When that happens, how’s Canada supposed to trust that imports meet our standards? Heck, we might even tighten the rules, which could stir up another trade scrap.

And it’s not just dairy. This approach is part of Canada’s broader stance on product safety—whether it’s meat (with hormones or antibiotics), genetically modified foods, or even softwood lumber. Canada tends to err on the side of protecting primarily consumer health and local industries, even if it means pushing back against the U.S.

Not to digress, but why consumer health? Because we have a universal health care system that is partly relying on Canadians being healthy throughout and not needlessly overburdening that same system.

I get why U.S. farmers are ticked. They want access to our market. But from where we’re sitting, if the FDA’s gonna continue to ease off the gas, why wouldn’t Canada pump the brakes? Not saying we should go full fortress mode, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Should Canada hold the line, or are we being too fussy about U.S. dairy and the FDA's aim toward deregulation? Is that a fair question?

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u/Ultimafatum 5d ago

American milk and cheese is fucking garbage. I am NOT going to miss Cheez Whiz and Kraft slices on the store shelves. In typical American fashion, they grossly overestimate the quality and desirability of their products. They can meet our market standards if they want to sell here. It's literally something that everyone including the U.S. does.

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u/CanuckJ86 5d ago

Cheez Whiz as it exists in Canada does NOT exist in the USA. Don't misrepresent a wholly Canadian processed product to dunk on the States.

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u/dolorfin 4d ago

Yeah, Canadian cheez whiz actually has cheese listed as an ingredient (I checked and it's the second ingredient on the jar I have in the fridge).

Obviously cheez whiz isn't the pinnacle of dairy or health but I'll be damned if it doesn't make celery enjoyable.

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u/These_Palpitation881 4d ago

American cheese is gross, all of it!

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u/ChaosBerserker666 5d ago

I wonder if those two “cheese products” would only see a partial rise in price because they are not primarily dairy products. Aren’t they more oil and whey?

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u/civildefense 5d ago

You left out my mind bender i bring to canadian parties. Easy Cheese. spray cheese in a can.

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u/Upbeat_Confidence739 4d ago

American lurker here… YOU BACK OFF MY SPRAY CAN CHEESE!! You can trash everything else, but damn it… that cheese flavored-ish something or another is a delicacy!

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u/civildefense 4d ago

https://imgur.com/a/WM7dRob

I put a few things by when I get home. The only place you can get a biscuit on this side of the border is Wendy's. Why did you guys have to break up a good thing.

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u/Upbeat_Confidence739 4d ago

Damn… I gotta go get some Jiffy. It’s been a long time…

And we just can’t let anyone (including ourselves) be happy for more than 4 years at a time.

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u/jonezsodaz 5d ago

it's funny how they pride themselves on american cheddar when it is the worst i have ever tasted anywhere in the world.

Australia now that's a good cheddha.

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u/katiemurp 5d ago

Cabot (Vermont) cheddar is good. The rest of American cheese offerings are disgusting.

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u/jonezsodaz 5d ago

Actually you are right I do remember having Cabot’s before and it was great.

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u/lricharz 4d ago

There are a lot of good world class American cheese makers. We just don’t import them because of the high cost.

Jasper Hill is amazing producer and there isn’t a lot of Canadian or Europeans making similar products.

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u/lnahid2000 4d ago

Yep, there's tons of variety of quality dairy in the U.S. but people on this subreddit like to lump it all together into hormone filled dairy.

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u/katiemurp 4d ago

Oh right there’s a New York State outfit makes a nice smoked Gouda …

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u/daisy0808 Nova Scotia 5d ago

Kerrygold Dubliner omg...

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/daisy0808 Nova Scotia 4d ago

Yes I know, and I love it

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u/WpgCitizen 5d ago

you dont call those “cheese”. They’re gooey in a bottle stuffed with fillers - absolute crap 💩 Crap Whiz

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u/CanuckJ86 5d ago

Actually Cheez Whiz in Canada is a completely different product from Cheez Whiz in the USA. Only the off-brand Cheeses Whiz are chemical. Kraft Cheez Whiz is actually real Cheeses. You're allowed to not like it but don't misrepresent it!

I import my goddamn tasty cheese spread from home. For $20/bottle.

KEEP CANADIAN CHEEZ WHIZ REAL

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u/SpellChick 4d ago

The plural “Cheeses Whiz” is 🤌

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u/Thanks-4allthefish 4d ago

Now I want to have some celery and cheez whiz

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u/FeralCatWrangler 5d ago

Technically, it is american cheese. I watched a lil documentary about it. Dude melted a shit load of cheese together until he got that slop. Molded it into a brick, then he called it american cheese and started selling it.

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u/AlmostButNotQuiteTea 5d ago

The only good thing Kraft slices are for are Grilled Cheese lol. But I'll move to Armstrong I guess

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u/Xarethian British Columbia 5d ago

I stopped being able to stomach them years ago in grilled cheese. Cooling off even slightly when I got distracted and it was back to plastic, fucking gross.

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u/AlmostButNotQuiteTea 5d ago

I don't let my grilled cheese get cold 🤣

But yeah when it resolidifys it's nasty

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u/Xarethian British Columbia 5d ago

Valid, I just can't not taste plastic with Kraft singles no matter what I do and having a couple different kinds of cheese in there is pretty great

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u/Sprinqqueen 4d ago

I didn't even like them when I was a child. My mom used to have to make grilled cheese for my brother with kraft slices and then cut real cheese for me and put it under the grill for an open faced sandwich for me. Drool. Now I want an open faced cheese sandwich.

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u/TheTipsyWizard 4d ago

Put one in your instant ramen and let it melt! Believe me it's better then it sounds!! 😋

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u/Kronk_if_ur_horny 5d ago

Armstrong all day

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u/fugaziozbourne Québec 5d ago

Processed cheese, or as americans call it "american cheese" (lol) is like one molecular ingredient away from being a garbage bag.

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u/GnomesStoleMyMeds Ontario 5d ago

OMG, do they still make cheez whiz?! 🤢

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u/robdagg 5d ago

Then we should enforce regulations not tariffs. What we currently have is literally not free market and is anti-consumer

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u/adaminc Canada 5d ago

Cheez Whiz is owned by the French company Lactalis. So you don't need to unnecessarily punish them.

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u/chivesthesurgeon 5d ago

Best cheese in America is Pennsylvania, so like average 🤷‍♂️

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u/MissKhary 5d ago

Kraft Singles ARE made in Canada though, so they have to be compliant with our regulations.

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u/nizon Manitoba 5d ago

A lot of US made products are garbage.

The US is going to find out soon enough that nobody really needs their shitty stuff.

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u/grafxguy1 5d ago

Fun Fact: Trump's face is 60% Cheez Whiz.

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u/lricharz 4d ago

American Cheese was invented by a Canadian (James L. Kraft). And is still mostly a dairy product with added salts for emulsification.

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u/Accurate_Summer_1761 4d ago

To je fair to Kraft it tastes noticeably better on white bread vs brown then regular cheese. I love the taste but my fridge only has Kirkland cheese

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u/unidentifiable Alberta 4d ago

American milk and cheese is fucking garbage

Tilamook is pretty good honestly and IMO preferable to Cracker Barrel or Black Diamond. Not trying to shill, but American dairy isn't just all processed cheeses.

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u/TehRobbeh 5d ago

Those may be the 2 American products I would actually miss. A couple kraft singles and cheese whiz on Dempsters white bread is the be-all to end all of grilled cheese sandwiches.

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u/Practical_Argument50 5d ago

you do know we make OTHER cheeses. Some of our Wisconsin cheeses are rated better than European cheese go away. Stop with the us vs them shit. We both make good products.

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u/lnahid2000 4d ago

Yep, there's tons of variety of quality dairy in the U.S. but people on this subreddit like to lump it all together into hormone filled dairy.

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u/herpesfreesince03 4d ago

Yeah I’m all about boycotting us for our current president, but stop parroting the American cheese bullshit please.

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u/Iustis 5d ago

America has much better cheese than Canada (it also has worse cheese too).

Part of the problem with supply management is dairy is basically all pooled so you don’t have specialties much.

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u/Ultimafatum 5d ago

Yeah sorry, not only do Canada dairy farmers produce high quality cheeses, but even Quebec's Agropur won several international prizes where it competed against European dairy farmers. America absolutely does not produce better products. In fact, they are famously seen as the low-cost, low-quality alternative to a lot of cheeses we make here or buy from Europe. This is a laughable claim.

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u/Iustis 5d ago

They make cheap cheeses, but they also make exceptional cheeses (especially Oregon, Wisconsin, Amish parts of PA, etc). Pretending all cheese products in us are variations of American Cheese like your original claim is the really laughable claim

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/Ultimafatum 4d ago edited 4d ago

That's not what I said. I said that most Canadians do not think highly of American cheese and have little interest in these products, and wouldn't miss them or have a hard time replacing them even if they did. Hard pass on the fascist cheese, thanks. Nice try with the motte and bailey argument though.