Trump’s impact on Canadian economy, industries possibly threatened

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As US Donald Trump prepares to mark his first 100 days in office, it could be a pivotal week for several industries in BC, as far as American policy is concerned.

The president’s influence on BC’s economy will also be the focus at a forum hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade today.

University of the Fraser Valley Political Scientist says the industries that will likely be the most impacted will be the Canadian dairy farmers and our softwood lumber industry. An announcement from Trump on the latter is expected tomorrow and that could come with stiffer taxes.

Those two areas are expected to be front and centre when folks at the forum gather and experts will discuss the overall impact Trump is having on the Canadian economy.

“Provincially, the big issue is softwood lumber. It has been for a long time. We had a deal that worked relatively well that has expired. It has to be re-negotiated and there is every reason to believe that Donald Trump’s administration will take a tougher line with Canada and particularly BC on the softwood lumber file. So, that’s an issue that we need to see how it plays out,” explains Hamish Telford, a political scientist with the University of the Fraser Valley.

Exactly how tough won’t be known for sure until tomorrow.

Telford says the dairy industry is probably a little less worried.

“As for dairy, well there have been talks over the years about making changes to the way we manage our dairy sector, the so-called supply management system. The dairy industry has fought those battles before and the system remains in place. I suspect that certainly the dairy industry will be ramping up to defend its industry and [farmers] have had a pretty good track record of maintaining the system that they like to work with,” he says.

Telford points out it’s hard to say just how serious the president is, because Trump has threatened other industries before, but with little follow-through.

“There’s been a lot of rhetoric and we’ve got to be concerned about that rhetoric but until we sit down at the negotiating table, I think we just have to keep our cards tight to our chest and defend our interests. It’s very difficult to know how to react so I think it’s best to keep our cool and not go ballistic when he says outrageous things.”

Trump marks 100 days in office on April 29th.

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