Scott Moe says tariffs spark concerns about Saskatchewan industries

After the imposition of punishing 50 per cent tariffs on many Canadian goods by the United States, Premier Scott Moe says it’s unfortunate that talks between the two nations broke down.

Moe spoke to reporters on Sunday at a celebration marking the 150th anniversary of the signing of Treaty 6, saying the latest round of tariffs will be difficult on the economies of both Canada and the U.S.

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“I was disappointed that the yardstick started to move that late in the negotiations, and we find ourselves in a very, very unfortunate place today,” Moe said.

“Things are going to get rough, for us as Canadians and for the North American economy.”

The premier said during the coming conversations and retaliation from Canada, the goal of free trade needs to remain at the forefront.

“Our goal here is to return to as close to the CUSMA arrangement as we had, so our goal needs to be to find a path for the United States of America and Canada back to that bargaining table so that we can find our way to that agreement,” Moe explained.

Moe has long been a proponent of free trade between the two countries, saying during previous flare-ups in the trade relationship that it’s best for everyone involved if there’s free trade across the continent.

The premier said Prime Minister Mark Carney laid out how things started to change in the final hours of negotiations, saying the deal the two countries were headed toward wasn’t going to be good.

For Saskatchewan, Moe said the new 50 per cent tariffs bring up concerns for the local agricultural manufacturing industry, as well as for the province’s forestry and agricultural sectors.

“We’re going to have to engage with our manufacturing sector – likely will over the next day or two – through the industry round tables that we have put together here in Saskatchewan to get a better understanding of what impacts the 50 per cent additional tariffs have on that industry and other industries, but also what path we have forward,” said Moe.

He added that the forestry sector has already been hurt, pointing to a recent closure announcement in Saskatchewan.

Moe also pointed to trade problems already affecting the steel industry, but said his government has taken steps to help by front-loading Crown procurement.

He said he expects conversations will start with the federal government on Monday about possible countermeasures to the latest tariffs, and what impacts will be in each province and territory. The prime minister had already promised dollar-for-dollar retaliation.

Moe said it’s important to remember that countermeasures from Canada are likely to inspire a further escalation from the U.S.

“We have to be very careful, methodical and intentional,” Moe said, adding that it’s important to ensure any countermeasures “have an impact on the U.S. and are heard by the U.S. administration and have a minimal impact on Canadian families and Canadian jobs.”

“That is not easy to do,” Moe said. “It is very tricky. It is very sensitive, and credit to the federal government for collaborating with provinces on where we can find those lines and that work is happening now, not just in Saskatchewan but, I suspect, in other provinces across Canada as well.”

Moe was asked whether his government would remove American liquor from Saskatchewan shelves, and he said that’s something that will be discussed. He said there are also other opportunities the province has to hit back when it comes to American investment and sales in the province.

Targeted retaliation

Before the U.S. president’s threats on Monday morning, Ralph Goodale said he was surprised by the reserved reaction from Donald Trump and said it might be a sign of hope that the situation could moderate.

Goodale is now a member of the advisory committee on Canada-U.S. Economic Relations and was a Regina Liberal MP for many years.

Speaking on the Greg Morgan Morning Show, Goodale said the federal government will want a well-designed form of retaliation against the U.S. tariffs.

“It needs to be smart and strategic, designed to have maximum economic and political impact in the United States, and the minimum fallout in Canada,” he said.

Goodale said the province will be carefully consulted on those countermeasures.

“Not just their advice about what not to do on the retaliation list, but their creative suggestions about where the pressure points might be,” he explained.

Waiting a couple of weeks for retaliatory tariffs to come into effect was prudent, according to Goodale. He said it will give Canadians time to think about the situation and provide their input, while also giving Americans time to think about it.

Goodale said over the weekend that current and former lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle in the U.S. were speaking out about the situation.

“So there’s a bipartisan momentum developing there to try to find a sensible way out of this, rather than the belligerent approach that we saw from the White House at the end of the week,” he said.

“Not going to be fun.”

Paul Martin said Canada is likely to be strategic about its retaliation, hitting back at industries the U.S. has targeted and doing it in a dollar-for-dollar fashion. He said the U.S. is going after steel, aluminum, the auto industry and some agricultural products.

“So we’re going to fight back on those things. We could have changed the channel a little bit and said, ‘You know, we’re going to go after energy,’ and we didn’t,” said the business analyst.

He said the Canadian strategy is to be proportionate and not escalate things.

With the sectors being targeted by the U.S. tariffs, Martin said the impact is going to be relatively modest in Saskatchewan, saying it’s more concentrated in Ontario, with B.C. and Quebec being secondary.

“The people in the farm machinery business are probably going to be feeling it because ag machinery is one of the things that is targeted,” said Martin.

Even so, he said there’s no question the industries that do get hit are going to feel it.

“It’s not going to be fun going forward,” Martin said.

–with files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick and 650 CKOM’s Libby Gray