If we don’t modernize how we measure trade, we will misread where the real risks and opportunities lie, dampen our trade competitiveness and make it less attractive to locate production in Canada, writes Danielle Goldfarb. Photo by GRAHAM HUGHES/AFP via Getty Images/Postmedia files

To understand how Canadian firms are recalibrating in response to the Donald Trump-era tariff threats , policymakers might naturally turn to trade data to assess the impact.

Exports to the United States dropped almost 16 per cent in April from March, according to trade data released by Statistics Canada on Thursday, largely reflecting a surge in exports to front-run the tariffs followed by reduced auto production when tariffs on foreign cars came into play in April.

The problem is that these numbe

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