On March 4th at midnight, a blanket 25 per cent tariff on most imported Canadian goods to the US took effect, leaving many wondering how this will affect businesses at the local level.
Grande Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce Board Chair Jon Anderson says the main challenge member businesses are facing comes from a “wait-and-see” mentality that has built up under the looming threat, leaving business owners feeling anxious.
“The challenge is, the impacts to us locally, won’t be immediate, everybody is in wait-and-see mode and that leaves us with nothing but anticipation, and that creates anxiety,” he says. “The trouble is, we also have this lack of things we can control, it’s just so high level with such a great deal of complexity that it leaves us at a local and small business level going- well what can we do, we seem to be at the mercy of this.”
Still, Anderson maintains businesses in Grande Prairie should focus on what they can control, such as diversifying their client base and re-evaluating their supply chains.
“I’ve really been talking to people about you know- let’s focus on what we can control, and that comes down to good business sense,” he says. “When was the last time we looked at our supply chain, do we have diversity in our client base, how can we change it, who else is there, these are things we might have a lot more control over.”
Naturally, Anderson says the chamber has been a “long-time proponent” of supporting local business. He says consumers should be mindful of the products they choose when they shop, and consider what “produced in Canada” actually means.
“This is a good time to remind ourselves to be careful about our definition of shopping local, it’s not just the ownership or the parent, there’s a great deal of local employment that goes on even if it’s a big chain so I think its definitely worthwhile to think of what are our opportunities to support local and support products that are produced in Canada, that’s always a good practice,” he says. “Then we get to the challenge of how do we make these choices competitive, now we’re back to good business thinking, and the creativity that comes with entrepreneurs in our area.”
Anderson adds that now could be a time for chambers around the country to influence policymakers, and encourage them to rethink rules on interprovincial trade, to improve commerce nationwide.
“Here’s the opportunity we have, I was reminded of a great quote- ‘never let a good crisis go to waste,’ that was Winston Churchill, so here’s the deal, we’ve been reminded, we better educate ourselves and keep up to date on what are the rules and policies that are at play, especially inter-provincially, do we understand them, do we know why they’re there, and do we know the systems to influence them and overcome them,” he says. “The chamber has a key role in influencing policymakers, especially at a provincial level, but also at the federal level, so let’s use this time to understand the system better, and work together to make improvements by advocating for better policy and a more effective business environment.”
US tariffs on Canada and China have already prompted retaliation from both countries, and it is expected Mexico will respond later this week.
