B.C. business leaders apprehensive day before U.S. tariffs imposed

B.C. businesses aren’t optimistic as the deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs draws near.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy, will start Tuesday, tipping the continent into a trade war.

The province’s lumber industry is expected to be one of the hardest hit by the effects of the tariffs in B.C.

According to Jeff Bromley, wood council chair with the United Steel Workers, “hardest hit” would be an understatement.

“I can’t see how any mill in Canada could run into the U.S. market with that kind of tariffs,” Bromley told 1130 NewsRadio.

He says the lumber industry is already dealing with a 14 per cent levy on softwood products, which is already expected increase in the fall.

“The Americans have just finished their annual review six of the softwood lumber going in and out of the United States and so they’re going to announce, likely, an increase to probably close to 30 per cent in November,” said Bromley.

But he says the changes will prove costly for American buyers because the U.S. relies on Canada to meet 25 to 30 per cent of the demand for softwood lumber.

“If you turn of the tap from Canada, in terms of the lumber market, the U.S. still can’t provide 100 per cent of their demand.”

Bromley’s sentiment was echoed by Bridgitte Anderson, president and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.

“We know that tariffs could actually have an impact of $1,300 [USD] on each American, as well as having a similar impact on Canadians,” Anderson said.

With 55 per cent of the country’s exports going to the U.S., she says the two countries need a good trade relationship to keep both economies afloat.

“If no exceptions are granted, we could be in a recession just in a matter of months,” she said.

—With files from The Canadian Press