Alec Salloum, Regina Leader-Post
Canada and the U.S. pressed pause on their simmering trade war, but Saskatchewan’s agricultural producers say uncertainty persists.
The threat of tariffs “casts a long shadow, threatening the wellbeing of Saskatchewan’s farm and ranch families, and agri-food businesses — the bedrock of the province’s economy,” states a press release from the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS).
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy and a 25 per cent tariff on all other Canadian goods. On Feb.3, he agreed to delay for one month after he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to an agreement with respect to upping border security.
Before the agreement, Trudeau had readied a salvo of tariffs on U.S. goods, beginning with a targeted selection that would expand weeks later.
Bill Prybylski, president of APAS, said the pause is welcomed, but that “it serves to extend the period of uncertainty for producers.
“The continued threat of tariffs still hangs over our heads, and with it, the risk of escalating inflation and uncertain trade relations. It’s like throwing a wrench into a finely tuned machine. Everything gets jammed up. It affects everyone including families sitting down for dinner in the U.S. and in the end, nobody comes out ahead,” Prybylski is quoted as saying in the press release.
According to the Government of Saskatchewan in 2023, the province exported “more than $3.2 billion in each of our four key crop product sectors: cereal grains, oilseeds, pulses and edible oils.”
The U.S. was Saskatchewan’s top agri-food export destination that year, accounting for $6.7 billion worth of trade.
APAS is calling on policy-makers to seek resolutions to prevent disruption for the industry. Prybylski compared the threat of tariffs to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling tariffs “round two” for the sector.
“It’s simple: tariffs are taxes that crank up consumer prices, hitting everyone’s wallet. Let’s not go down that road again,” said Prybylski in the release.
alsalloum@postmedia.com
