President Trump is calling Wednesday "Liberation Day" as he announces a barrage of tariffs on friends and foes.
In return, Canada has announced 6,200 tariffs on the U.S., including tariffs on obscure things like fake beards, walking canes and camels.
The list doesn’t stop there; it also includes manatee meat and flamethrowers — items that caught business students at FGCU off guard as they closely monitored the stock market for the impact Trump’s tariffs could have on the economy.
Sandro Garcia is a finance major and described many of the Canadian tariffs as a weird move.
However, when he saw the list of Canadian tariffs on U.S. goods, he was a bit puzzled to see camel meat and other bizarre items on the list.
Gulf Coast News found manatee meat, false beards and live monkeys on a list of 6,200 tariffs Canada has imposed on the U.S.
“Tariffs would make more sense if they're put on things people were actually buying."
So, it begs the question: why is Canada doing this? Victor Claar is an economics professor at FGCU and, at first glance, thought the tariffs were an April Fool's prank.
Dr. Claar researched the matter and took a deeper dive into many of the items Canada claims it is placing tariffs on.
“These things are ridiculous. I think there are two possibilities: one, they want a long list that won't hurt Canadians very much. The other possibility is it's just a big joke,” Claar stated.
A joke Claar warned is on the United States.
“Americans should be very concerned. This has been a settled issue in economics for years,” Claar said.
He made it clear tariffs are a tax paid for by the country that places the tariffs on goods coming in.
“Canada wants to look tough and have a long list of things they're introducing tariffs on, but because they know tariffs hurt your own people, then they've introduced tariffs on things most Canadians do not buy from us,” Claar noted.
This is a concern for many of the young economic students at FGCU.
“When it comes to tariffs right now that is a huge backdrop of why people are worrying about the stock market and the general economy as a whole,” Garcia said.
As he and others wait to see what impacts Trump's tariffs have on everyone, guaranteeing a real economics lesson.