Tuesday marked another shift in the unpredictable Canada-U.S. trade dispute. New U.S. tariffs on Canadian paper, aluminum and wood products went into effect while others on toilet paper, cement and road salt were removed. Ron Marcolin, the divisional vice president of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, said while the total national cost of the changes will be “negligible,” it will impact New Brunswick wood and metals like aluminum. “It’s unfortunate because those are really the key ingredients to some of the intermediate goods that New Brunswickers are so good at producing,” he said. “If you’re a small manufacturer or, say, even a medium sized manufacturer, today’s announcement and today’s implementation will certainly hurt.” But in an interview on Sept. 11, Maine Governor Janet Mills celebrated the reversal of tariffs on road salt. “We were very worried about not only the cost, but the threat to public safety in Madawaska and Fort Kent and Ven Buren,” she said. The United States implemented 50 per cent tariffs on $27.6 billion of Canadian goods on Aug. 22. On Sept. 29, the country will ban Canadian alcohol, motorcycles and some dairy products. Marcolin said businesses are investing more time and money navigating whether their exports will be impacted by tariffs. “Unfortunately, they’re spending a lot of time dealing with the nuances of Trump and tariffs. It’s just not really good use of time. We should be open to free trade. We should be looking at great partnerships,” he said. U.S. tariffs are estimated to impact a New Brunswick export value of $115.1 million. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
