Saskatchewan’s Trade and Export Development Minister says there are a lot of unknown as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat looms ahead of February 1, but he says American lawmakers and business owners need to understand how damaging the 25 per cent, across-the-board export tariffs would also be south of the border.
(Photo courtesy of www.saskatchewan.ca)
Warren Kaeding says Premier Scott Moe and others have been speaking with business leaders, state representatives and incoming secretaries in the U.S., and the first ministers have been meeting as well, adding that a delegation will be heading to Washington D.C. in couple of weeks for further meetings, to discuss the damaging effect the tariff would have on both sides of the border.
Speaking on the current dysfunction on Parliament Hill, Kaeding says Canada is basically without a federal government at the moment, as the Liberal government in the middle of a leadership race, and he says that makes it even more vital that Ottawa, the provinces and territories present a united front, when it comes to trade issues.
Kaeding notes Saskatchewan is one of the provinces least dependent on the United States when it comes to trade, with 55 per cent of the province’s exports going to the U.S. each year, worth an estimated 28 billion dollars.
He says the province currently has nine trade offices operating around the globe, working to expand into diverse trade markets.
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