Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on US paper products could push up toilet paper and tissue prices, highlighting how the escalating trade war is reaching everyday household goods
Toilet paper is the latest casualty of the escalating trade war between the United States and Canada.
Canada is preparing to impose new tariffs on a wide range of American goods from September 8, including a 25 per cent duty on toilet paper and similar sanitary paper products. The tariff list also includes a 50 per cent levy on several paper and paperboard products used further up the supply chain.
It may sound like a trivial addition to a trade dispute dominated by cars, steel and aluminium. It is not. The latest Canadian measures target about $20 billion worth of US imports and were announced after trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa collapsed. They are intended as a dollar-for-dollar response to the 50 per cent US tariffs imposed on around $20 billion of Canadian goods. The Canadian measures range from 15 per cent to 50 per cent and cover roughly 700 products.
Why toilet paper matters
The US is not dependent entirely on Canadian toilet paper. But Canada is by far its largest foreign supplier. US imports of toilet paper stood at about $510 million in 2024, with imports from Canada worth $328 million, according to World Bank trade data. That means Canada accounted for roughly 64 per cent of the value of US toilet-paper imports that year.
In volume terms, the US imported about 112.8 million kg of toilet paper from Canada in 2024. Canada, meanwhile, is even more dependent on the US market. Its exports of toilet paper were worth about $329 million in 2024, with almost the entire amount, about $328.7 million, going to the United States.
More from BusinessIn other words, toilet paper is a small but revealing piece of a much larger North American supply chain. A tariff does not automatically mean the entire levy will be passed on to consumers. Importers and manufacturers can absorb part of the cost, negotiate with suppliers or switch to alternative sources.
But where companies cannot absorb the additional expense indefinitely, some of it can eventually reach retailers and consumers. That is where the toilet-paper story becomes an inflation story.
The bigger problem is supply chains
The United States and Canada have spent decades building manufacturing and supply chains that cross the world’s longest international border. Cars can contain parts that cross the border several times before a finished vehicle reaches a customer. The same principle applies, in less visible ways, to paper and other consumer products.
That makes tariffs particularly disruptive. Washington has already threatened to raise tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks and auto parts to 50 per cent from January 1, 2027. The announcement followed the collapse of negotiations and has raised concerns about higher production costs for US automakers, which rely heavily on Canadian components.
Ottawa’s retaliation is broader, covering products ranging from paper and toiletries to electronics, machinery, clothing and prepared foods. The government has also announced a C$7.5 billion support package for businesses and workers affected by the new tariffs.
