The President of the United States is issuing an executive order to examine the trade relationship between Canada and the U.S. instead of imposing tariffs he previously talked about.
On Monday Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president and will be directing federal agencies to evaluate trade relationships with Canada, Mexico and China. Ahead of the president’s inauguration, CEO of the Lethbridge and District Chamber of Commerce Cindy Crane says over a dozen local business owners gathered to talk specifically about some of the threats Trump had made around possible tariffs. She says what came out of these discussions opportunities were uncovered of what can be done or needs to be done.
“What we need to do as a province [and] as a country with interprovincial trade, [is look at] the importance of strengthening that, but also the importance of looking at who else we export to and how can we up those relationships with other countries so we are not so reliant on the U.S.,” Crane says.
While there are worries about the future, Crane says the focus needs to be on preparing for tomorrow. She adds there is no guarantee about what is going to happen so it is important to be prepared for anything because changes can happen “really fast.”
City of Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen says from a municipal standpoint, they will be watching how the other levels of government deal with the situation. He says it will be important to keep an eye on the progression because, around the Lethbridge region, there is a lot of businesses who take part in international trade, especially with the Agri-Food Hub Corridor.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith issued a statement Monday following the U.S. President’s inauguration, saying the province is pleased to see the president’s decision to “refrain from imposing tariffs on Canadian goods at this time as they study the issue further.”
“We appreciate the implied acknowledgement that this is a complex and delicate issue with serious implications for American and Canadian workers, businesses and consumers given the integration of our markets, along with our critical energy and security partnership,” Smith says “Avoiding tariffs will save hundreds of thousands of Canadian and American jobs across every sector. As an example, declining to impose U.S. tariffs on Canadian energy preserves the viability of dozens of U.S. refineries and facilities that upgrade Alberta crude, and the jobs of tens of thousands of Americans employed at them.”
Smith adds that even though no tariffs were implemented Monday, the threat of them is still very real and steps need to be taken to “preserve and strengthen our economic and security partnership with the United States.”
