Local businesses brace for impact of 25% Trump tariffs
The tariffs went into effect as of midnight Tuesday
Local businesses are bracing for what analysts are predicting could be a disastrous impact on the country's economy as threatened tariffs on Canadian imports to the United States begin today.
"Tariffs are one thing. The bigger issue is what is going to happen to this entire region. I'm very concerned about the economy," said Andrew Tepperman, the executive chairman of the furniture and appliance retailer that has stores in seven locations across southwestern Ontario.
"This has been the most absurd couple of months I've ever seen. It makes no sense. These kinds of things, they have a domino effect. I'm really, really worried."
As 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods coming into the United States take effect, Canadian counter-tariffs will also begin, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
If people lose their jobs or worry about spending because of economic uncertainty, retailers here will suffer because consumers will spend less, Tepperman said.
The reciprocal tariffs will affect products the company buys from Mississippi and North Carolina, but that's the price Canadian businesses have to pay to fight back, Tepperman said.
London recently announced a series of moves to shore up the local economy in the face of the tariffs, including helping local businesses re-orient themselves to domestic trade.
Other businesses are also pivoting and worrying. Joji Thomas owns Thomson Foods in St. Thomas, which exports 40 per cent of its product south of the border. Recent uncertainty have made it hard to plan ahead, he said.
"This is a scary moment for everybody who is manufacturing in Canada. I don't know what to do for the next three to six months to survive. Maybe I'll have to issue layoffs," Thomas said. For now, the company will focus on selling within Canada.
"I think I have to aggressively come back to the Canadian market and I'm thinking about how to implement that."
Pre-planning has been tough because of the on-again, off-again tariff threats from the American president, but because the threat has dragged on for so long, today's implementation has been right around the corner, said Jaymie, Crook, who owns dog food brand Bosco and Roxy's.
"I think there's a bit more resignation than what it was the first time it went around," Crook said. "The temperature is not as panicky."
He's spent the last month running different scenarios to decide how the company would react. "We've had the odd phone call from customers in the U.S. that are asking about our response to tariffs, should they come. Our answer to them is the same: We don't really know."
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he's willing to do whatever it takes to get Trump to back down, including cutting off energy to States that buy electricity from the province.
Trudeau is scheduled to hold a news conference on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. ET with several federal cabinet ministers.