Dismay as Trump reimposes tariffs on Canada and Mexico

Similar tariffs are also being levied on southern neighbours Mexico.

Donald Trump paused the move a month ago, but now says he needs to take action because drugs are still pouring across US borders.

Trump said in a social media post that fentanyl imports are killing people and the US "cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA" and he will levy a 25% tariff on Canada "until it stops, or is seriously limited."

But the national broadcaster CBC reports that despite Trump’s claims, data from the US Customs and Border Protection released earlier this month shows there has been a significant decrease in fentanyl seizures coming from Canada.

The move will severely hit Canada’s farmed salmon producers who are serious exporters into the US.

Those in British Columbia also face sky-high costs following the Canadian federal government’s decision to end open pen farming.

The problem is that no-one knows how long the tariffs will be in place. Trump is so  unpredictable that he could well decide to suspend the move after a few weeks, especially if seafood prices start rising in the shops, fuelling inflation.

Norwegian owned businesses may decide to sell up or pull out if the action   becomes prolonged.

Mowi has already said it is monitoring the situation closely while a plan by Grieg Seafood to sell its Newfoundland facility is reported to have fallen through due to tariff uncertainty.

Grieg decided earlier this month to scale back investment at its loss-making Canadian operations.

Meanwhile, the European Union is also bracing for new round of tariff announcements from the White House. In contrast, yesterday’s summit meeting between Trump and UK PM Sir Keir Starmer gave some grounds for hope that UK exporters might escape US tariffs.