Alberta industries, beef producers bracing for impact of potential U.S. tariffs

Just days distant from the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump, industries crossed Alberta are preparing for the looming menace of tariffs to go a reality.

The menace of sweeping tariffs connected each Canadian goods exported to the U.S. has created uncertainty successful Alberta’s agriculture industry, arsenic beef accumulation requires aggregate trips backmost and distant crossed the 49th parallel.

“It’s a full batch of ‘what if,'” Alberta Cattle Feeders Association president Janice Tranberg told Global News.

According to Ryan Kasko, who runs Kasko Cattle Company extracurricular of Lethbridge, it’s a hard to program ahead.

A 25 per cent tariff, the worst lawsuit script helium said, would effect successful $1,000 successful mislaid worth per caput of cattle.

“Frankly, astir farms would spell bankrupt existent quick,” Kasko told Global News.

Beef led Alberta’s cultivation exports to the U.S. successful 2023 astatine $3.1 billion, followed by crude canola lipid astatine $1.2 billion, unrecorded cattle (excluding purebred) astatine $980.2 million, processed potatoes astatine $716.5 million, and oilseed barroom and repast $666.1 million, according to figures from the Government of Alberta.

Given the magnitude Alberta exports to the U.S., Kasko said the impacts of commercialized restrictions would besides beryllium felt by Americans successful the market store.

“I deliberation successful an inflationary situation wherever nutrient costs person been going up, it’s contrary to what you’d deliberation to beryllium mean behaviour — to enactment tariffs connected that volition summation nutrient prices adjacent higher,” helium said.

In a connection to Global News, Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson said the state is “very acrophobic astir the imaginable for tariffs.”

Sigurdson said Alberta exported $8.9 cardinal of superior agriculture and value-added products to the U.S. past year.

“There’s inactive plentifulness of unknowns astir the imaginable interaction of tariffs, but we volition enactment with the incoming medication and manufacture to guarantee our nutrient producers and forestry sector’s voices are heard,” Sigurdson’s connection said.

Impacts are besides expected astatine businesses similar Rangeland RV, which regularly ships steel, aluminum and different motorhome parts backmost and distant from the United States.

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“It tin impact everything from timing of parts, prices of parts, prices of RVs, labour rates and everything successful between,” Rangeland RV’s vice-president of sales, Cody Nielsen, told Global News.

But connection the national authorities is readying a first-round of counter-tariffs connected $37 cardinal worthy of goods deemed little harmful to the economy, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce is urging a antithetic approach.

“The Calgary Chamber’s members person made it precise wide to america that nary assemblage should beryllium utilized arsenic a bargaining chip,” the Chamber’s Ruhee Ismail-Teja told Global News.

According to the chamber, retaliatory measures would “mimic and amplify” the impacts of U.S. tariffs, reducing the worth of Canadian vigor products.

Figures from the Chamber of Commerce amusement the vigor manufacture represents 25 per cent of Canada’s full exports and accounts for $150 cardinal successful yearly commercialized with the U.S.

“The ‘Team Canada’ attack is not mislaid astatine this point,” Ismail-Teja said.

“It’s a challenging concern for governmental leaders to beryllium in, wherever they some request to champion the needs of their state oregon jurisdiction but besides basal with their colleagues to person arsenic agreed a beforehand arsenic possible.”

The Government of Alberta is besides speaking retired against immoderate retaliatory measures that would interaction the vigor sector.

“Tariffs would perchance interaction hundreds of thousands of jobs successful Alberta,” said a spokesperson for the Finance Ministry successful a connection to Global News.

“But if the national authorities imposes an import taxation oregon prohibition connected vigor products, the interaction would beryllium crippling to the livelihoods of each Albertan.”