Barrie Mayor reacts to Wednesday’s reciprocal tariffs announcement

The Barrie Mayor says much remains up in the air as auto tariffs will be felt heavily here in Barrie.

Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall sat down with CTV’s Dana Roberts to discuss the potential economic impact of sweeping reciprocal tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

A 10 per cent baseline fee will apply to all imports, though Canada has been granted an exemption according to a fact sheet from the White House.

Trump also unleashed an update on non-compliant goods under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) which will face a 25 per cent tariff. Non-compliant energy and potash will see a 10 per cent tariff.

The 25 per cent tariff on auto is set to kick in at 12:01 a.m., on Thursday.

Mayor Nuttall expressed the uncertainty the potential tariffs may create for Barrie’s manufacturing sector, saying that a lot remains ‘up in the air’.

“There’s a lot of work to do in terms of how we’re going to be able to stand beside our industry here in the city of Barrie,” said Nuttall. “I think we’re very fortunate to have such a strong manufacturing sector, and we need to make sure that we’re able to preserve it and grow it going forward.”

He emphasized that while uncertainty in the U.S. remains a challenge, Barrie must focus on strengthening domestic production.

“So, if there’s going to be continued uncertainty to the south, we need to focus on domestic production, get rid of those internal trade barriers that, exist between the province. And we need to look east and west to be able to take our products around the world,” he shared in an interview with Roberts on Wednesday.

With files from CTV News Toronto.