CFIB taking cautious approach with tariff announcement

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down President Donald Trump’s IEEPA tariffs. Harrison Shin shares the impact it will have on Manitoba.

An organization representing Canadian business owners said the news that broad tariffs are being removed is a positive one in the short term, but added more uncertainty lies ahead.

On Friday, a 6-3 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the current use of global tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Tyler Slobogian, senior policy analyst with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), took a mixed view on the decision.

“It’s definitely a positive development - but, you know, it doesn’t remove the uncertainty that they’ve been dealing with for years now,” he said. “The tariffs on steel and aluminum are still in place and you know, the U.S. can very well use other trade tools to achieve kind of the same outcome.”

Trump has since said he would sign an executive order to charge a blanket 10 per cent global tariff under the U.S. trade law known as Section 122.

Slobogian said he expected the new tariffs and said roughly 25 per cent of Manitoba’s businesses are affected.

“This directly raises, again, the costs for Manitoba small firms to import machinery, components, and equipment,” he said.

Slobogian said businesses are looking for a more stable environment, but at the same time, they are looking for other opportunities, with help from the province.

“These CUSMA negotiations are going to be key for businesses across Canada and specifically here in Manitoba,” he said.

-with files from CTV’s Harrison Shin and Kendra Mangione