President Donald Trump announced on Monday that The radical prices on Canadian imports will come into force from Tuesday.
Kent Fellows, economist at the School of Public Policy at Calgary University, said Alberta could have a big hit, not only Trump prices, but also reprisal rates in Canada.
Addressing journalists in Washington on Monday, Trump confirmed his 25% of prices On all goods from Canada and Mexico, will go from the front, with a rate lower by 10% for Canadian energy imports.
Trump initially announced that prices would come into force on February 4, but deferred them for a month after Canadian and Mexican officials have promised to take steps to stem the flow of illegal drugs and immigrants through their respective borders, which, according to Trump, was the reason for his pricing threats.
The economist, Kent Fellows, said that Alberta and the rest of Canada could be immersed in a recession in the impact of Donald Trump prices.
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Fellows told Global News that it was difficult to understand exactly what Trump’s strategy is here, Alberta and the rest of Canada could “look at the cannon of a potential recession”.
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The threat will quickly transform local savings in the places of Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge and many other cities in zero soil for the impacts.
But at least a business owner is trying to find the silver lining in the situation in constant evolution.
“If Canadian Canadians and retailers really take behind Canadian brands, if a brand is made here, and employs local populations … I think it could be positive net,” said Mitch Jacobsen, owner of Rviita Energy Tea.
The company based in Calgary has been selling its healthy energy drinks for about five years now, and since the landing of a contract with Costco in January, its Northwest establishment is more busy than ever.
“With Costco, we took a big risk and put” proudly made in Calgary Alberta “everywhere in the packaging,” said Jacobsen.
“It was one of the best things we have never done, because we had a lot of people say:” I exclusively tried your product just because it is made in Canada, and I want to support a Canadian brand. “”
Jacobsen said that his team had done the best that they could obtain as many Canadian ingredients as possible, but some will still come from the United States
“Some flavors, vitamin mixtures … There are Canadian suppliers, but it takes some time. You must do tests to change supplier, so there will be a gap there where you are going to be touched. “”
But it is confident that retailers are starting to see the value of providing Canadian manufacturing products on their shelves, depending on what he heard from consumers.
Although he expresses a certain optimism for the Canadian side of his business, he says that prices will limit the growth of his business.
“Part of the participation of a Canadian business is ultimately expansion plans in the United States, so we have actually removed the table in the short term,” said Jacobsen.
Currently, Rviita only sells its products to American consumers on Amazon and has no choice but to transmit prices to the customer.
“It is a relatively small piece of our business right now, but it had to be a very big piece. I don’t want to say that he actually disappeared during the night, but quite close.
“With these prices, our retail price will be less competitive.”
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that radical prices against Canadian and Mexican imports would continue on Tuesday.
The Canadian / AP press, Manuel Balce Ceneta
Not only will prices have an impact on consumers and businesses, but scholarship holders have said it will also have an impact on provincial government income.
“Depending on the way you count, the income of natural resources in the province represent one in four, one in five dollars in provincial income,” said Fellows.
“So that could be a very big success for the provincial government – and I think the province is worried not only of what the United States does, but what Canada wants to do in terms of reprisals.”
On Tuesday, the provincial government published the budget next year and, depending on the impact of prices, it provides a deficit between $ 2.9 billion and $ 8.7 billion.
The scholarship holders said that the 10% lower price on energy products would help reduce the harmful effects of a trade war on Alberta, but he added that there is Other industries In the province too, like the wood wood industry, where prices “could have a fairly serious impact”.
On Saturday, the US government warned Canadian wood imports could cope with a price of around 27%.
Trump also promised Agricultural import rate From April 2, 2025.
While governments have promised aid for the industries that will be affected, the scholarship holders have said that deciding what this support will be like will be delicate because “paying for support requires income, and prices limit the amount of income – by removing economic activity.
“The dollar will take a hit. Imports will become more expensive. I do not envy anyone the task of trying to understand what these supports look like. »»
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