Loblaw introducing ‘T’ symbol to indicate products in crosshairs of trade war

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Canada’s largest grocer is advising shoppers that some food prices are going up – again – and that they should blame tariffs, not retailers.

Loblaw Cos. Ltd. L-T has created a new symbol – a “T” inside a black triangle – that it is preparing to tack on to the shelf prices in its stores to denote products affected by tariffs. The symbol will appear on signs in all Loblaw stores, including grocery banners such as No Frills, Your Independent Grocer and Real Canadian Superstore, as well as Shoppers Drug Mart locations. It will also appear next to those products on Loblaw’s e-commerce websites.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed punishing 25-per-cent tariffs on all Canadian imports except for energy and critical minerals. Two days later, he paused those tariffs for goods compliant with the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) until April 2. But Canadian countertariffs on roughly $30-billion worth of U.S. goods, applied in response to the U.S. levies, remain in place.

That means many goods coming into Canada are now facing inflationary pressure. And a number of food items are on that list – including fruits and vegetables, spices, pickles, meat, poultry, nuts, condiments and more.

“We know affordability has been a challenge for so many Canadians, including the cost of groceries,” Loblaw president and chief executive officer Per Bank wrote in a post on LinkedIn Monday, announcing the new “T” symbols coming to store signage. “We’ll continue to work with our suppliers to reduce the impact of these tariffs, but the unfortunate reality is that Canadians should be prepared to pay more for goods originating from the U.S. in the weeks ahead.”

Mr. Bank has previously said that Loblaw buys less than 10 per cent of its stock from the U.S. and that the company is working with Canadian vendors to source more products domestically.

But the Canadian market is reliant on the U.S. for some items that are not easily sourced elsewhere at the same prices and in the same quantities. That’s particularly true in the fruit and vegetable aisles, where the “T” symbol is likely to show up first – signs there will be appearing next week, Loblaw spokesperson Catherine Thomas wrote in an e-mail.

For packaged products, which do not expire as quickly as produce, price hikes will not be visible as quickly. Loblaw already has stock in its distribution centres, which was shipped before the tariffs were instituted last week, so their prices will be unaffected until the existing inventory is sold, Mr. Bank wrote.

“Customers can be assured that when tariffs come off, any tariff pricing changes will be entirely removed,” he wrote.

Loblaw and other grocers faced scrutiny in recent years as grocery prices soared, along with the cost of just about everything else. The new labelling effort at Loblaw is an attempt to clearly indicate the reason for the coming price increases – and to further assist shoppers seeking to avoid U.S.-sourced products.

Over the past month, as trade tensions with the U.S. have ramped up, Loblaw and other grocers have also been working to add more signs indicating products made in Canada. Consumers who have been angered by Mr. Trump’s threats against the country have responded with a “Buy Canadian” movement, selecting domestic products where possible.

“We are pro-Canada and not anti-American. We have many trusted U.S. vendors, but we will be responsive to our customers’ needs,” Mr. Bank wrote.