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Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ Chamber calls for better inter-provincial trade ahead of U.S. tariffs

The Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ Chamber of Commerce calls for streamlined inter-provincial trade as businesses worry about tariffs
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B.C. wine industry faces challenges in selling alcohol to other provinces.

The Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ Chamber of Commerce is bracing for the long-term economic impacts that tariffs, which are expected to be imposed on goods traded between Canada and the U.S. in early March, could have on the local economy. 

On Feb. 1, American President Donald Trump signed executive orders to implement a tariff of 25 per cent on Mexican and Canadian goods which would start on Feb. 4. In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was poised to implement a retaliatory 25 per cent tariff on American goods being imported into Canada. 

Maryse Harvey, president of the Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ Chamber of Commerce, explained that tariffs are an added tax on goods that transit through a border. This increases the price of the items for consumers.

After negotiations on Feb. 3, Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump agreed to delay the tariffs for at least 30 days. 

"While this is good news, we must still be ready to pivot," said Harvey. "We need to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. A 30-day reprieve can help us do that."

In addition to preferentially purchasing locally-grown and produced items from Canadian-owned stores, Harvey said that inter-provincial trade must be strengthened and producers need to look at diversifying the countries they sell to. 

"We can't take our relationship with the U.S. for granted anymore. It is shattered," she said. 

The difficulties of inter-provincial trade are exemplified by the challenges the B.C. wine industry faces in selling alcohol to other provinces. When visiting her hometown of Montreal, Harvey finds it challenging to find any Okanagan wines on the shelves of liquor stores, when American and French bottles are abundant. 

"Inter-provincial trade is a problem we have been ignoring for a long time," said Harvey, adding that if there has ever been a time to abolish the red tape that restricts the flow of goods within Canada, it is now. 

According to Harvey, businesses in Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ are worried about the implications of the looming tariffs.

"Many of them are going to be impacted directly, while others will be impacted indirectly."

Preliminary data from a survey distributed to members of the Chamber of Commerce shows that while most people do support a Canadian-imposed retaliatory tariff on American goods, they worry about the impact of a price increase on the products they import. Additionally, not-for-profits worry that donations will decrease with the economic uncertainty of a potential trade war. 

Harvey said businesses such as restaurants, where margins are already slim, may experience hardship as paying tariffs on American-grown foods will drive up prices. 

Additionally, exporters who grow and sell foods like fruit worry that there will be a decrease in demand south of the border, should tariffs be imposed.  

"Exporters are very worried," said Harvey.

The B.C. forestry industry, which exports lumber to the U.S. has stated that it faces great uncertainty in the period of tariff limbo.

While the tariffs on the exchange of products between the U.S. and Canada will impact current businesses, it also hurts future companies, said Harvey. 

 

 



Jacqueline Gelineau

About the Author: Jacqueline Gelineau

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