Businesses fear closure with no Canada-U.S. trade deal as industry reacts
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OTTAWA — The collapse of trade talks between Canada and the United States, the imposition of 50 per cent tariffs on $28 billion worth of Canadian goods and Prime Minister Mark Carney pledging dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs triggered swift reaction from the nation’s business community.
Candace Laing, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, called the breakdown a “body blow to North American competitiveness in this self-defeating trade saga.”
“A whopping, non-absorbable tariff is not sustainable or viable for business,” she said in a statement. “For a small Canadian exporter operating on tight margins, this isn’t an abstract trade dispute. It means looking at your orders, your payroll and your employees and asking what you can still afford.”
Laing, who is a member of Carney’s Canada-U.S. relations advisory committee, added Americans will see their costs go up, while Canadians will see customers, investment and small businesses disappear.
