(Reuters) -Canadian retailer Loblaw warned on Wednesday that prices increases will affect more products as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs put pressure on supply-chain costs for companies.
As companies in categories such as packaged food and consumer goods raise prices, Loblaw said in March products affected by tariffs would be marked with a “T” symbol.
The number of items bearing the “T” symbol is expected to jump to more than 3,000 in the next few weeks and to exceed 6,000 in the next two months, Loblaw CEO Per Bank said in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday.
The company’s stores collectively carry about 80,000 items, of which nearly 1,000 are marked with the “T” symbol.
“We will be facing a large wave of tariff-related increases in the weeks ahead… It’s been good to see Prime Minister (Mark) Carney and other leaders engaging in dialogue with U.S. officials, as we’re all hoping for a rapid de-escalation of this situation,” Bank said.
Loblaw’s customers are likely to see greater impact in categories including natural foods, pantry staples and health & beauty products, Bank said, adding that consumers are shifting their purchases away from some U.S.-sourced products.
Canada imposed a range of counter-tariffs on U.S. imports in response to Trump’s 25% tariffs during a trade altercation that has led to increased unemployment in Canada’s export-dependent economy and sparked fears of a recession.
While Trump announced pauses on reciprocal tariffs for several countries, signed a limited bilateral trade deal with the U.K. and temporarily cut tariffs on China, there has been little respite from the levies imposed on Canada.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
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