no deal better than a bad tariff deal for canada, mp blois says
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n.s. mp kody blois and liberal leader mark carney make a lunch stop at shooter's bar and grill in enfield as the federal election campaign kicked off in march.
tim krochak
/
the chronicle herald
no deal trumps a bad deal for canada.
that’s the way the canadian government views u.s. president donald trump’s self-imposed deadline of aug. 1 to reach a tariff deal, a deadline that passed without an agreement, says kings-hants mp kody blois.
“had we been in a position that we thought an agreement on friday, aug. 1 would have been in the best interests of canada, the best pathway forward, we would have signed,” said blois, the parliamentary secretary to prime minister mark carney.
“right now, with the exceptions under cusma (the canada-u.s.-mexico agreement on trade), although there are real strategic challenges for certain sectors of our economy, canada remains and has one of the best accesses to the u.s. economy in the world,” blois said.
“we’re going to continue to have that constructive dialog.”
blois said new brunswick mp dominic leblanc, the minister responsible for canada-u.s. trade, continues to spend time with his counterpart in washington, and the prime minister is engaging with trump.
control our own destiny
“we’re hopeful that we can get to an outcome,” blois said. “we have to again remain focused on what we can accomplish at home. we will play into external events, we will engage with the u.s. administration, but at the same time we have to control our own destiny at home and that is why we are focused on major projects, whether they are in atlantic canada or across the country, or we’re focused on what we can do to support the forestry sector from british columbia to newfoundland and labrador and everywhere in between.
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“those jobs matter and they matter here in nova scotia when you think about companies like ledwidge lumber or freeman lumber, elmsdale lumber; our forestry sector is integrated across the country and the impacts in b.c. have corresponding impacts in nova scotia and our job as a government is to try to find ways to constructively support the forestry sector in canada.”
missing trump’s artificial deadline means that goods that move from canada to the u.s. that are not covered in the cusma, which was signed by trump and came into effect in july 2020, will be subject to a 35 per cent tariff.
a lumber loader moves pulpwood at ledwidge lumber in enfield on july 17.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
blois said cusma-compliant exports to the u.s. can be a fleeting number.
“the prime minister referenced (tuesday) 85 per cent-plus of canadian exports that go to the united states are cusma compliant,” blois said.
“that number again is moving slightly as companies are registering and ensuring that their paperwork is compliant with the provisions of the cusma. the canadian economy by and large is protected from u.s. tariffs. we still have arguably and objectively the best access to the u.s. economy in the world but we recognize that there is real and significant harm to certain strategic sectors that the u.s. government is seeking to protect for themselves or change the relationship.
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“that is notably the steel and aluminum industry in canada, that is the auto sector, that is copper, for example, and it obviously includes the forestry sector.”
forestry announcement
carney was in british columbia on tuesday to announce measures to support the canadian forestry sector, specifically softwood lumber.
the prime minister announced $700 million in guaranteed loans by the government through the bank for canadian entrepreneurs and export development canada.
the federal government will provide $500 million in capital for innovation projects in the forestry industry, while working on procurement policies at the federal-provincial level to encourage the purchase of more canadian lumber and more canadian products.
a $50-million fund to support workers who might be displaced in the forestry industry is also included.
nova scotia premier tim houston said in a statement last week that as much as a tariff deal was hoped for by aug. 1, the provincial government was aware that it would be difficult to get something done by trump’s deadline.
with yarmouth mla nick hilton looking on, premier tim houston talks about the importance of working together to come up with affordable housing options for nova scotians.
tina comeau
“we never wanted to be in this position,” houston said, thanking carney and the federal government team that had been working on the deal.
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“no one wanted tariffs,” he said. “this has been a long and difficult road. our government will continue its part to support our province and the rest of canada.
“make no mistake: at the provincial level, we will not hesitate to implement retaliatory measures again if they are needed.”
for now, houston said, the provincial government is focused on what it can control, including building the economy, becoming more self-reliant, diversifying trade markets, removing internal trade barriers and supporting nova scotian and canadian businesses.
there is a division among canada’s premiers whether the best path forward is to apply retaliatory tariffs against the u.s. or if that measure would further exacerbate the issue and convince the trump administration to escalate tariffs on canadian goods.
“we’re taking that day by day,” blois said. “the prime minister has been very clear that the negotiation that we’re having with the u.s. government will not take place in public and the government’s position is that we are going to look at every decision whether it is in relation to how we can get to an agreement, how we may engage with the u.s., whether that’s in countervailing duties or not, on a case-by-case basis.
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“these are complex negotiations, these are conversations that involve sectors across the continent, and at this point in time our government is of the view that we have not gotten to a position where an agreement would be in the best interest of canada.”
‘in this together’
some nova scotians may have breathed a sigh of relief that the cusma compliance had mitigated the effect of the latest round of trump tariffs.
“we’re in this together as a country and every province is going to have its own specific viewpoint on its particular industries that might be challenged by the trump administration’s agenda,” blois said.
“canada benefits when we’re together, whether or not its seafood products in atlantic canada to the auto industry in ontario to b.c.’s lumber; we want all elements of the canadian economy doing well and impacts in b.c. do have impacts in nova scotia.
“we are a national economy and we’re not immune to this, no part of the country is, and our goal as a federal government is to engage constructively with the u.s. government, remind the u.s. government that canada can be a stable partner, that we can be there to create mutual benefit for the u.s. economy and canada, and those conversations continue.”
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