The following is a statement from Giles Gherson, President & CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade on U.S. tariffs on Canada:
Last night, talks that appeared close to a trade cease-fire collapsed, and Canadian businesses now face the outcome everyone hoped to avoid: the sledgehammer of 50 per cent tariffs on $28 billion of Canadian exports.
Many of the sectors hit hardest are core to this region's manufacturing base. This is a direct hit to Toronto-region jobs and investment.
Our trade negotiators were in an unenviable position. This is the second time in the past ten years that a Canadian government has been forced to renegotiate our trading relationship with an unpredictable White House. Each time, we've been pushed to come out with less than we had before.
Throughout this process, Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that no deal is better than a bad deal. Clearly, the Federal government felt that what we were being asked to come out with was too little and would bake in a one-sided, punishing arrangement. In short: buying peace in our time would come at too high a cost for the Canadian economy, especially for core sectors like autos and steel. That is highly unfortunate, but likely unavoidable decision, but it will leave many businesses hurting.
For some period, we'll be trading damaging uncertainty for turmoil. The questions now become: how far escalation will go and where is the pathway back to a re-negotiated, balanced CUSMA agreement.
This is a moment for the provinces and Ottawa to move together, not to let this fight split the country along regional lines. We must maintain coordinated provincial action as we continue to address this challenge. Over the past year, Canadians showed what unity looks like—buying Canadian, travelling in Canada and supporting our local industries. We’ve started to see the power of our 41-million-person, $3 trillion economy. Now we need to turn our economic protest into a powerful economic pact.
That must start with tearing down our own interprovincial trade barriers, cutting red tape to become more competitive at home, and building real alternatives beyond the U.S."
Giles Gherson, President & CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade
The Toronto Region Board of Trade is one of the largest and most influential business chambers in North America and is a catalyst for the region’s economic agenda. We pursue policy change to drive the growth and competitiveness of the Toronto region and facilitate market opportunities with programs, partnerships and connections to help our members succeed – domestically and internationally.
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