THIS MAKES NO SENSE

Oak flooring is subject to a 3.5 per cent tariff, but maple flooring is free. An umbrella is tariffed at seven per cent, but 7.5 per cent if it has a telescoping shaft. Women’s running shoes are 18 per cent, but high-end Manolos are only 11 per cent. A staple gun is tariffed at 3.5 per cent, but that rises to 6.5 per cent if they’re sold in packs of two. Every pharmaceutical in the world can be imported free into Canada, save for a specific type of gel used in medical examinations. It would be comforting to assume that there is some grand plan behind the madness of the tariff schedule, but in reality it’s mostly just chaos. “There often is very little logic once you really start to look into the tariffs,” said Adam Taylor, a former federal government trade negotiator and now the founder of the consultancy firm Export Action Global.