Florence Hwang
Regina Leader-Post
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says tackling the threat of 50 per cent American tariffs on a range of Canadian products is not going to happen on social media, nor will it occur in the public sphere.
Instead, it needs to happen at the negotiation table.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that new tariffs which could impact $20 billion in Canadian imports — according to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) office — are scheduled to come into effect beginning Aug. 19.
Moe said Tuesday he anticipates there will be numerous meetings between Canada and the United States in the coming days. He emphasized the need to sit down and find a solution through negotiations, which would also be his “advice to the federal government.”
“And I’ll be bringing that to all the tables that I have the opportunity to be a part of over the next few days …,” Moe said during a news conference in Charlottetown for this week’s premiers meetings.
Moe noted that the feds have a good negotiating team, led by Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade.
“At the end of the day, they (the United States) need a renewed agreement as well,” Moe said, “and we need to realize that they need a renewed agreement as well.”
Meanwhile, Saskatchewan NDP leader Carla Beck is calling the latest tariff threat a “gut punch” to the province.
“We have seen the devastation these punitive and shortsighted measures have had on workers as recently as last week with the curtailment of the Big River sawmill, which will cost 117 people their jobs,” she said in a media release.
Added Moe: “That’s a substantial impact on the forestry industry in our province. We’re trying to dissect whether there’s going to be additional tariffs on some of our OSB (Oriented Strand Board), some of our pulp that is exported to the U.S. as we speak.”
Moe focused on the need to build the economy through a renewed trade agreement, not through counter-tariffs, which could further weaken the North American economy, he noted.
“The ultimate goal is to get a renewed (CUSMA deal with the U.S. and Mexico), a trade agreement that is going to build and ensure that our North American economy is more competitive moving forward than maybe it is today with the uncertainty we are facing,” he said.
The last time the U.S. announced tariffs, Regina business Sticks and Doodles — which creates custom wood signs and ornaments — paused sending products south of the border for a year. Two weeks ago, they were ready to resume shipping orders to American customers, but that all changed a few days ago.
Kyle Moffat, the co-founder of Sticks and Doodles and Happiness Maker, is frustrated about news of the tariffs, noting the announcements have taken place “so many times.”
“We’ll get through this,” he said. “We always do, and you can trust that local businesses will be at the head, working really hard to make sure that our staff and our communities are protected.”
fHwang@postmedia.com
