SASKATOON—In addition to a congratulatory message, Premier Scott Moe advised Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney to immediately engage the US and China at the bargaining table further to de-escalate the increasing trade tensions between the three countries.
The US and China, the world’s top two economies, are Canada’s top trade partners. The former imports over $421 billion in products, almost 30 percent of which are crude oil and natural gas.
On Wednesday, March 12, the US imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel imports and delayed a second round of duties until April 2. Canada responded with 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on US products entering the country, and Ottawa said it would match dollar for dollar every move by the Trump administration.
Moe, speaking to local media after hosting a Business Roundtable with representatives of provincial companies on Thursday, March 13, at the Sheraton Cavalier Hotel, said Saskatchewan and the rest of Canada are facing five challenges in this ongoing trade war—the fentanyl and border security tariffs of 25 and 1 per cent, the steel and aluminum tariffs, the reciprocal tariffs to take effect on April 2, the threat of more counter-tariffs, and the counter tariff imposed by China on Canadian seafood after Ottawa slapped a 100 per cent surtax on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
He congratulated Carney for winning the Liberal Party’s leadership race and said he looks forward to working with the banker-turned-politician until an election is called. Carney is set to be installed as Canada’s 24th prime minister.
“But he [Carney] has some things that he needs to do and hit the ground running. I would say paramount, and first, is to provide a plan on the five tariff topics I have laid out. With the United States government, he needs to engage with the Chinese government immediately. This morning, I noticed that his first planned international visit was to the European Union. Not good,” said Moe, who was joined by Ministers Warren Kaeding (Trade and Export Development) and Daryl Harrison (Agriculture).
“We don't have a trade war with the European Union. We are in the midst of a trade war with the United States of America and China, the two largest economies in the world and our two largest export markets and trading partners. Choosing to go to the European Union is beyond what I could understand as being impactful or representing Canadians. And so, I would ask Mr. Carney to reconsider that. Engage immediately with the Chinese government. Continue to engage and lay out his plan for how he will engage with the United States of America.”
He added that further tariff threats on Canadian exports would impact the province’s industries, and many could lose their jobs. This would disrupt the energy and food security goals that Saskatchewan plays a massive role in in the North American region. Saskatchewan’s canola industry is among those that China’s tariffs will impact, with its imports reaching almost $3B in 2018.
“It will close [canola] crushing plants. I can't be more clear. The people working in those plants will not have a job for some time. I would hope that anyone who is running for the Liberal Party of Canada or any party in the next election listens to these next words: More impactful than a temporary loss of jobs in the canola crush industry is the markets that we are losing,” said Moe.
“The markets we are losing will be tough to build in the first place, and they will be incredibly hard to regain. I don't know that those jobs will immediately come back. This is why I ask Prime Minister-designate Carney to reach out and make his first engagement with the government of China to find a way through these disastrous counter-tariffs that have been implemented that will have an impact on Western Canadian families.”
Moe said he, Kaeding, and Harrison met with industries creating jobs and opportunities for communities across Saskatchewan so the provincial government could understand the impacts of the uncertainty surrounding the trade war between Canada, China, and the US on families living in the province.
“Specifically, I am interested in canola oil and mill and what that means for our ag value-added processing industry, particularly our canola crush industry. What we are seeing concerning these engagement sessions and what they are focused on is how we can ensure that the provincial government is best representing the opportunities that we have in Saskatchewan and thereby best representing Saskatchewan families,” Moe said.
“One is an understanding that various levels of government and industry as well have a role to play as we work our way through this conversation, whether it be with our Canadian government, whether it be with the [US] government at whatever level, or whether it be abroad in countries and markets like China. First and foremost, I think it's important to identify that our federal government is the level of government that will engage and engage directly, whether it be with China or whether it be with [the US]. We encourage them to do so.”
On Thursday, Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck also stated China is imposing tariffs on the agricultural products it imports and the damage it will do to the province’s farming industry. The tariffs came at the worst possible time.
“The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the federal and provincial governments to do everything possible to have this decision by China reversed immediately. We know these tariffs are a retaliation measure for tariffs placed by the Canadian federal government on Chinese electric vehicles — this has led canola farmers to openly express fear they are being sold out to protect the auto sector in Eastern Canada. We don’t need more division. We need to come together and protect every sector of the Canadian economy. The federal government should start by reviewing these electric vehicle tariffs today,” Beck said.
