Trump’s auto tariffs, Canadians warned of U.S. travel and an attempt to boycott Amazon: Business and investing stories for March 30

Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more.

Trump announces 25% tariffs on vehicles imported to U.S., including from Canada

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to impose a 25-per-cent tariff on all imported cars, light trucks, SUVs and cargo vans. The tariffs come into force on April 3. Vehicles imported under the United States-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement will be taxed at the same amount based on their non-U.S. content. Meanwhile, auto parts covered by the trade agreement will face tariffs at a later date. The move upends decades of free trade in automobiles between Canada and the U.S., and threatens Canada’s auto sector. Eric Atkins spoke to industry experts who say the industry faces possible plant shutdowns and layoffs. The effect of tariffs will be particularly felt in Ontario, which is home to seven auto and two truck assembly plants owned by five auto manufacturers. “We’re vulnerable,” Vito Beato, president of the Unifor union local at the Stellantis NV’s car assembly plant on Brampton, Ont. Can’t keep track of every Trump tariff threat? Here is a cheat sheet breaking down which tariffs are in place and what’s on pause.

Lawyers advise Canadians working in U.S. to avoid travel amid border crackdown

Canada updated its travel advisory for the U.S. this week following the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and threatened tariffs. The updated advisory requires Canadians visiting the U.S. for longer than 30 days to register with the U.S. government. Lawyers are also warning Canadians who work in the U.S. to avoid international travel or crossing the U.S. border, Vanmala Subramaniam reports. Immigration lawyers say the overall hostile tone from the White House toward non-U.S. citizens is emboldening border agents to become more heavy-handed with travellers leaving and entering the country, even those who hold valid work and study visas. There have been multiple incidents of business travellers and tourists arbitrarily being stopped at U.S. border crossings and sometimes held for weeks at U.S. immigration detention centres.

Decoder: U.S. auto pain is China’s gain

After Mr. Trump announced his plans for 25-per-cent auto tariffs, shares of U.S. automakers tumbled. Shares of General Motors Co. fell 7.4 per cent on Thursday and Ford Motor Co. shares fell 3.9 per cent. Shares of Canadian Magna International Inc. also dropped 6.9 per cent. But this all spells good news for another country: China. BYD Co. Ltd., the Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles, has seen its shares soar by more than 50 per cent this year. Matt Lundy takes a closer look at the numbers in this week’s Decoder.

Hudson’s Bay Co. terminates 200 corporate employees as liquidation job losses begin

In another blow to Canada’s oldest retailer, Hudson’s Bay Co. terminated the jobs of nearly 200 corporate employees on Friday. It is the first in what is expected to be a wave of job losses as the retailer liquidates the majority of its stores. The company also found itself back in court this week, seeking approval for an agreement that would place a time limit on saving six stores that have been left out of liquidation for now, Susan Krashinsky Robertson reports. If approved, those six locations would also begin liquidation unless the Bay can show by April 7 that it has the prospect of reaching a deal that would then repay the senior lenders. Landlords for Hudson’s Bay have opposed the agreement. The six stores not immediately included in the liquidation sale are the flagship Hudson’s Bay on Yonge Street in Toronto; the store at Yorkdale mall in Toronto; Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ont.; the downtown Montreal store; the location at Carrefour Laval in Laval, Que.; and the store in Pointe-Claire, Que.

I tried to boycott Amazon to ‘Buy Canadian.’ Here’s how it went

In an attempt to truly embrace the ‘Buy Canadian’ movement, Mariya Postelnyak tried to boycott Amazon for two weeks. She writes that she knew it would be tricky, but she had no idea just how far the tech company’s tentacles reached into everyday life. She cut off shopping on the app and streaming movies and shows via Amazon Prime. But the hardest part was staying away from products or services that used the company’s real money-maker: Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS provides hosting and digital infrastructure to thousands of sites we visit every day, such as Airbnb, Starbucks, PayPal, Reddit, Coca-Cola, Formula 1, Heineken, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, Disney+, CBC and, yes, even The Globe and Mail. Read about her two-week embargo here.

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