Flame-throwers and manatee meat among odd U.S. products targeted by Canada’s retaliatory tariffs

A man demonstrates the use of a WWII-era flame-thrower during Lest We Forget WWII and Vietnam Re-enactment Korean Tribute held at Tiscornia Beach, Saturday, June 21, 2014, in St. Joseph, Mich. (AP Photo/The Herald-Palladium/Don Campbell)

While the U.S. is implementing tariffs across the board on Canadian imports, Canada is retaliating with a more targeted approach that takes aim at specific products and industries.

Designed to inflict economic pain for Donald Trump’s allies and supporters, Canada has slapped 25 per cent tariffs on U.S. products such as meat, metals and orange juice. But among the more than 6,200 items listed by Canada for tariffs, there are a handful of odd and obscure ones, like flame-throwers, false beards, church bell cases and live monkeys.

Some items – like manatee meat and passenger drones – seem so uncommon or unusual that one has to wonder how they even made the list, and how much of this stuff is actually sold in Canada.

Ian Lee, a professor at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business, says the vast list of items seems to be driven by political and not purely economic calculus.

“Why would you list such a plethora of small, obscure products?” Lee asked CTVNews.ca. “I think it’s being driven by the need to produce visible optics, and so they can say, ‘Look, we’ve got six thousand, two hundred (items), we’re really going at this, we’re really sticking it to Donald Trump and the Americans.”

In the ongoing trade war, Canada’s dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs are meant to impact $30 billion in goods imported from the U.S. Nearly 1,800 items were hit with tariffs on March 4 and 13, and over 4,400 more are scheduled for April 2.

Jason Childs, a professor of economics at the University of Regina, says that the lists of thousands of products are likely “padded” to make Canada’s response appear more impressive.

“We want to apply tariffs to things we can make ourselves or get elsewhere,” Childs told CTVNews.ca. “I will say, manatee meat isn’t something we can make ourselves, but I don’t think it will create too much of a backlash from Canadian consumers.”

Here are some of the most unusual, specific and obscure U.S. items Canada is targeting:

• Live animals, including primates, camels and manatees.
• Meat from animals including primates, camels and manatees.
• Dog coats, dog food and frozen dogfish fillets.
• Emus and other birds, decoy birds, and explosive bird-scaring devices.
• Tuned handbells, church bells and fitted cases for church bells.
• Veils, prayer shawls and burial shrouds.
• Asbestos and clothing made with asbestos fibres.
• Toilet seats, toilet sprays and toilet brushes.
• False beards, eyebrows, eyelashes and wigs.
• Cruise ships, drill ships and warships.
• Satellites, spacecraft and spacecraft safety glass.
• Unmanned aircraft designed to carry passengers.
• Bovine semen and the tubes, pipes and hoses used for storing it.
• Rocket launchers, flame-throwers and grenade launchers.
• Snuff, rolling papers and tobacco pipes.
• Accordions and accordion parts.
• Metronomes, tuning forks and pitch pipes.
• Diaries, encyclopedias and sample books of textile wall coverings.
• Paintings, drawings and pastels of an age exceeding 100 years.
• Amusement park rides like roller coasters and carousels.
• Travelling circuses and menageries.

Lee says many of these products were likely chosen because they won’t affect most Canadians.

“These are not consumer goods that are turning over in high volumes,” Lee explained. “They’re low-volume purchases, which tells me they’re going to have a small impact on Canadians if only a small number are buying them on any given day.”

Childs agrees.

“These are some odd items to be sure,” he said. “This is likely about things that aren’t going to make too many Canadians mad.”