For Canadian publishers, printers, and booksellers, it appears that the tariff situation will not change, in spite of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariff announcements on April 2.

On Wednesday afternoon, Trump spoke to reporters and the world in laying out a new system of broad-based tariffs that will apply to goods from all other countries. All countries will be subject to a 10 per cent tariff on goods they export to the U.S., with a list of named countries subject to higher tariffs depending on the particulars of their trade relationship with the United States.

Canada and Mexico, the U.S.’s major trading partners in North America, were not mentioned on April 2, though planned tariffs that apply to Canada’s auto sector were set to kick in on April 3.

On March 4, the U.S. implemented a 25 per cent tariff on goods crossing the border from Canada into the U.S. that don’t comply with the existing Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, with a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy exports. Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which is the legislation Trump is using to enact his tariffs, there are exemptions for informational materials in order to protect Americans’ first amendment rights. Books have so far been exempt from that 25 per cent tariff.

The Canadian government enacted counter-tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods crossing into Canada from the U.S. on March 4.

A second round of 25 per cent counter-tariffs were expected to take effect on a further $125 billion worth of imported goods on April 2. Those counter-measures were set to include books, children’s books, and paper.

In a rare collaboration, the Canadian Independent Booksellers’ Association and Indigo wrote a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney last month, asking him to exclude books from the upcoming counter-tariff measures – joining a chorus of book industry voices calling for books and other educational materials to be exempt from any Canadian counter-tariffs.

On April 3, the Canadian government announced new tariffs that only target the auto industry.

“In response to President Trump’s tariffs on our auto sector, Canada will impose a 25% tariff on all U.S. vehicle imports that do not comply with our free trade agreement. All revenues from these tariffs will be used to support our Canadian auto workers and their industry,” Carney tweeted on Thursday.

The auto tariffs are, so far, the only new measure the Canadian government has announced to address Trump’s latest salvo in the trade war.

CIBA executive director Laura Carter was cautiously interpreting the focus on the auto sector as an indication that books may continue to be excluded from tariffs, but is hopeful there will soon be official word from the Canadian government about how books will or won’t be affected.