The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Feb. 14, edition that on Thursday Canadian Tire chief executive officer Greg Hicks said the prospect of a trade war between Canada and the U.S. has "substantially erased" early signs of improving consumer confidence. The Globe's Susan Krashinsky Robertson writes that Mr. Hicks said, "At a time when the economy seemed to be moving in the right direction and we were gearing up for a return to growth, we're now faced with the threat of tariffs." Canadian Tire sources about 15 per cent of its goods from U.S. suppliers, Mr. Hicks said, and the company is now looking into alternatives to shield customers from higher prices. "Any product that we source in the U.S., we have alternative sources for," Mr. Hicks said. Already, a larger percentage of Canadian Tire's products come from Canada than from south of the border, Mr. Hicks said. Many of those products fall under the category of essential goods. "If you think about anything that goes into a bag or a bottle, it's likely that is a Canadian supplier." Mr. Hicks estimated that it should be possible to find Canadian sources for approximately 25 to 30 per cent of the products the company currently buys from the United States.