A 30-day pause on implementation of the Trump tariffs is good news for Canada’s export-dependent commodities, but this is only a short reprieve to the pressure, not an end, says Michael Harvey, executive director of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance.
What U.S. President Donald Trump seems to be pushing for is broader, more structural changes to how the North American agriculture and agri-food businesses function, and that’s not a good thing, Harvey says, as food processors and agriculture supply chains have leveraged the best of both sides of the border to create efficient food production.
Harvey says that it is important to pause and take a step back during this brief reprieve and fully explore what the options are going forward. CAFTA intends to work closely with its U.S. counterparts and producers to help them better understand how bad the end of free trade would be for U.S. businesses and U.S. consumers.
While organizations try and sort out what happens going forward, several ideas have been floated in regards to trade with the U.S., including an early renegotiation of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico agreement (CUSMA/USMCA). Harvey doesn’t feel that’s necessary to navigate these next 18-months ahead of the review.
What remains to be seen is whether or not those supply chain partners and industries in the U.S. that will hurt from these tariffs will speak up on their own behalf, even if it means Canada benefits, as well.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | All Podcasts