Trumps new Canada tariffs could flush savings,send toilet paper prices higher heres how much

When nature calls, cleaning up is poised to get more expensive due to President Trump’s new 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian goods.The levies, which took effect last weekend after trade talks collapsed, could hike toilet-paper makers’ fiber costs by as much as 11% — with the added costs hitting consumers over the next two or so months, an expert told The Post on Friday.It comes down to manufacturers’ reliance on Canadian fiber, North Carolina State University prof Ronalds Gonzalez explained.About 15% of the fiber used to make bath tissue is long fiber sourced from Canada or the northern US — with most of the material coming from Canuck country — said Gonzalez, who specializes in the economics and supply chains of pulp, paper and hygiene-tissue products.With toilet paper relying on a combination of long and short fibers, the price of a ton of the raw material is likely to go up about $735 per ton, or around 11%, the expert said.The tariffs’ potential impact is even greater for paper towels, which use more of the Canadian long fiber than toilet paper, according to Gonzalez.He said the cost of paper towels is likely to rise by 31%.The prof cautioned that the higher manufacturing cost won’t necessarily translate into an equivalent jump in prices at the store.“Let’s not talk about price.

Let’s talk about cost, because the market in the US is highly competitive,” Gonzalez said.Manufacturers could swallow some of the additional expense rather than pass it entirely on to shoppers, he added.Gonzalez said consumers could begin feeling the effects within about two months because tissue manufacturers typically keep 45 to 60 days’ worth of inventory on hand.Companies also have another option: replacing Canadian northern long fiber with long fiber produced from pine in the southeastern US, Gonzalez said.The tradeoff could be quality.“If a company wants to offset the price increase, they can just simply go to the local market in the US [and] get the ...