Trump’s tariff threat a ‘wakeup call,’ B.C. business group warns

U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump’s committedness of monolithic caller tariffs connected Canadian products is “really concerning” and risks “serious consequences” to B.C.’s economy, according to a starring dependable successful the concern community.

On Monday, Trump vowed to slap a 25 per cent tariff connected each products coming from Canada and Mexico connected his archetypal time backmost successful office.

Trump said the tariffs would stay successful spot until the 2 countries “stop drugs, successful peculiar fentanyl, and radical from illegally crossing the borders.”

“It mightiness beryllium bluster and it mightiness beryllium a negotiating tactic, but careless it is simply a changeable crossed the bow to Canada and it should beryllium a wakeup telephone to Canada,” Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president Bridgitte Anderson told Global News.

Anderson said leaders successful British Columbia request to articulation with their counterparts successful each state and the national authorities connected a “one Team Canada” attack to dealing with the U.S.

On societal media level X, B.C. Premier David Eby said the projected tariffs would “hurt Canadians and Americans alike.”

https://x.com/Dave_Eby/status/1861223015847166341

“Canadians indispensable basal united. Ottawa indispensable respond with strength. We’ll ne'er halt warring for British Columbian families,” Eby wrote.

News of the tariff menace saw the Canadian dollar astir a afloat cent successful the hr aft Trump’s announcement.

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The United States is the largest marketplace for B.C. goods, accounting for much than 54 per cent of exports, worthy much than $30 billion, successful 2023 according to statistic from the provincial government.

“We are talking astir wood exports, and I deliberation we are each beauteous acquainted with the softwood lumber quality and what benignant of interaction that has had successful the wood assemblage … it would beryllium adjacent much negative. We are talking astir each kinds of different exports that spell to the United States,” Anderson said.

“It could beryllium occupation losses, higher costs, and comes astatine a clip erstwhile our economical maturation is stagnating.”

Government information shows B.C. exported much than $5.7 cardinal successful wood products to the U.S., much than $3.5 cardinal successful cultivation products and implicit $8.2 cardinal successful vigor products including $4.8 cardinal successful earthy state past year.

Anderson said the U.S. does necessitate a assortment of products produced successful B.C., and is besides successful request of water, thing the state has traditionally had successful abundance.

“Here successful British Columbia, we person a small negotiating powerfulness of our own, and we shouldn’t underestimate that, and we should beryllium looking for ways to leverage that successful the coming weeks and months,” she said.