Cut off from the US by tariffs, Canada's wool industry looks overseas

US tariff on raw Canadian wool

50 %

In August, the United States began charging 50 per cent tariffs on raw wool from Canada and some finished wool products, cutting producers off from US buyers.

Where producers can turn

The United Kingdom
The Czech Republic
China

Canada has no large-scale plants to wash raw wool and has long shipped it south for processing. Big producers now look to other countries to avoid the tariffs.

"Canada has high-quality products, like our Canadian wool, to offer the world, and we want to help get more of them into global markets."

— Heath MacDonald, minister of agriculture and agri-food

The missing first step

scouring

Ottawa is giving the Canadian Wool Council nearly $160,000 over two years for export promotion. The council's chair, Matthew Rowe, wants major investment in scouring, the washing that starts all wool processing.

Economy · 18 d ago

Cut off from the US by tariffs, Canada's wool industry looks overseas

In August, the United States began charging 50 per cent tariffs on raw wool from Canada and some finished wool products, cutting producers off from US buyers.

Canada has no large-scale plants to wash raw wool and has long shipped it south for processing. Big producers now look to other countries to avoid the tariffs.

"Canada has high-quality products, like our Canadian wool, to offer the world, and we want to help get more of them into global markets."

Cut off from the US by tariffs, Canada's wool industry looks overseas

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