Quinte Economic Development Commission CEO Chris King says tariffs could be crushing for local industry.
He says more than 75 per cent of local manufacturers export to the United States, some of those sending a significant amount of production south of the border.
“But others are reporting, hey, 30, 40 per cent, some over 70 per cent of their sales are from exports to the U.S. so it can have a very significant impact on the manufacturers that are selling into the U.S. And some are reporting that hey, our customers are just not going to be buying due to lack of costs. They’ll be looking for maybe customers elsewhere, maybe other U.S. competitors. Or they’ll be looking for price reductions to make up the differential on the 25 per cent tariffs.”
King says they’ll be working with manufacturers and municipalities to find ways to mitigate the damage.
“The other piece that we’re getting feedback from is the retaliatory tariffs, again, depending on what sectors are going to be subject to those retaliatory tariffs from Canada could again impact the cost of inputs to our local manufacturers so that’s certainly an issue as well.”
King says layoffs are a possibility but he is hopeful the governments will be able to find a solution.
If the situation lingers, he says there could be some financial assistance for manufacturers similar to aid offered during the pandemic.
With the push now on to purchase Canadian-made products, King says there are plenty of local options.
For anyone that’s looking to understand, hey what is made locally and what can we find locally that’s made here, the Made in Quinte site, madeinquinte.ca does exactly that. So you can look at companies like, you know, Kellogg’s Cereals or Rachel’s Tarts or all those things that are made in this region.”
The website is madeinquinte.ca.
