Like other Canadians, dentists are grappling with uncertainty as the Trump administration plans to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian imports, effective April 2, following the previously enacted 10 per cent tariffs on Chinese-origin goods.
Clifford Sosnow, chair of Fasken’s International Trade and Investment Group, said during a webinar hosted Tuesday by the Dental Industry Association of Canada (DIAC) and the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) that dentists are ‘most vulnerable’ because they are at the end of the supply chain.
“We’re likely to see both an inflationary impact on the cost of supplies and goods sold, and a recessionary impact on the Canadian economy,” Sosnow said. “As a result of those higher business costs and the general recessionary environment in your industry, as we’re seeing in other sectors, there will likely be less discretionary spending.”