For decades, Canadians have been, by a wide margin, the world’s largest buyers of cars and trucks made in the United States. In most years, four out of every 10 vehicles that roll out of Canadian dealerships were shipped from American factories.
But being the most important overseas market for America’s vehicle industry has not insulated Canada’s own auto industry from President Trump’s move to unravel the global trading system. On Friday, Mr. Trump threatened to impose a new 35 percent tariff on Canada unless the two countries struck a deal.
But even before then, Mr. Trump’s recent trade deals with Japan, Britain and the European Union meant that their auto exports would now be entering the United States at tariff rates lower than that on Canadian cars and trucks.
