Quebec businesses are bracing for impact as the U.S. administration has once again threatened tariffs on a range of Canadian goods. On Wednesday, 50 per cent tariffs will take effect if a deal between Canada and the U.S. is not reached. Brandon Svarc, the founder of Naded & Famous Denim in Montreal, says while most of his products will be unscathed, his cotton shirts will be hit with heavy tariffs. “Of course it’s annoying,” he said. “We’re going to push on and just do our best.” But one farmer in the Eastern Townships says he is not too worried about the tariffs themselves. Instead, what concerns him is what Canada might give away at the table. “The last (CUSMA) negotiations, we conceded 4 per cent of our national market access to the U.S.,” said Angus MacKinnon, a seventh-generation dairy farmer. “That is 4 per cent that we don’t get to profit from,” he said. As trade negotiations between the two countries continue, the U.S. is eyeing Canada’s dairy industry. The country’s supply-management system protects the sector and has been cited by U.S. officials as a key irritant. “Putting things into perspective, the state of Wisconsin produces more milk than the country of Canada,” said MacKinnon. He adds that U.S. President Donald Trump has a strong Midwestern voting base and wants to show them he is standing up for them. Recently, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley told The Canadian Press that Trump’s tariff threats should serve as a “wake-up call to Canada to make some changes.” Quebec accounts for 37 per cent of Canada’s dairy production, with nearly 4,000 farms and tens of thousands of jobs in the industry. Premier Christine Fréchette said the federal government must uphold Canada’s supply management system. In a press release, Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) and the Dairy Processors Association of Canada (DPAC) say they are disappointed to see dairy drawn into a broader trade dispute. “We have to feed our country and not rely on others in order to feed our country,” said MacKinnon. “And not be dictated by other countries on how we feed our country.”
