Toilet Paper Returns as a Political Headache for Trump as Canada Trade War Renewals Raise Consumer Concerns
Key Takeaways
- •MS NOW analyst Anna Kim argued that Trump's trade war with Canada has renewed American anxiety over toilet paper prices.
- •Canada is the largest supplier of U.S. toilet paper imports, and those imports are subject to a 50% tariff.
- •Kim predicted toilet paper prices are unlikely to skyrocket because the U.S. produces most of its supply domestically and consumes only about 5% Canadian toilet paper.
- •Kim noted symbolic everyday products make tariff costs feel tangible to voters in ways abstract trade data does not.
- •As Trump's poll ratings decline, Kim warned the GOP should be concerned about public frustration over affordability of household staples.
As President Donald Trump's reputation circles the bowl, one particular element of his legacy endures: toilet paper.
That was the analysis Sunday morning from MS NOW, which examined how Trump's trade war with Canada has Americans worrying once again about toilet paper — and raging at the president.
"Call it another stain on Trump's handling of the economy," wrote analyst Anna Kim.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has caused Americans to panic over toilet paper. Kim pointed to the "Great Toilet Paper Panic of 2020" at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when supply chain disruptions led people to barter face masks for rolls, prompted toilet paper heists, and drove a surge in the popularity of bidets.
Toilet paper has often haunted Trump. In 2018, he made headlines boarding Air Force One with what appeared to be toilet paper stuck to his shoe, and he has been plagued by rumors that he wears adult diapers.
He has also been mocked by a piece of artwork called "America" — which is, in fact, a golden toilet — as well as by Trump-themed toilet paper.
Now, Trump's toilet paper troubles have returned. According to Kim, Canada is the nation's largest supplier of toilet paper imports, which means those imports will be subject to a 50% tariff. Canada has been a major source of U.S. paper product imports in part because of integrated North American supply chains and shared pulp and forestry resources across the border.
While Kim predicted that toilet paper prices are unlikely to skyrocket — citing the large amount the U.S. produces domestically and the small percentage (5%) of Canadian toilet paper the U.S. consumes — she argued the issue remains a newsworthy concern. Even where tariffs do not dramatically reshape prices, consumer goods with high symbolic salience have repeatedly surfaced in past trade disputes, as everyday products make tariff costs tangible to voters in ways abstract trade data does not.
"Access to affordable TP might have even more resonance than prices at the pump," she wrote. "Not everyone has a car, but everyone uses the bathroom."
As Trump's poll ratings plummet, Kim concluded that the Republican Party should share Americans' concerns about toilet paper. How ordinary household staples fare under the renewed tariffs is likely to remain part of the broader public debate over the trade war's effects on consumer costs.
"It's a bad sign for the GOP that consumers feel squeezed by their Charmin — instead of vice versa," she wrote. "By rekindling his trade war with Canada, Trump hasn't just flushed away the last vestiges of goodwill with our closest ally. He's wiped away any pretense of concern about Americans' daily struggles with affordability."
