Canada will officially go dollar-for-dollar with the United States of America in an ongoing trade war. Federal finance minister François-Philippe Champagne said the tariffs will be implemented in September and protect Canadians. “Canada’s coverage areas are designed primarily to provide protection for Canadian industry impacted by U.S. tariffs and allow them to compete against U.S. products in the Canadian market,” said Champagne. “It’s all about fairness. It’s all about a level playing field.” In Simcoe County, Peacock Tariff Consulting have been in constant meetings with clients ensuring businesses are compliant with incoming tariff regulations. Ashley Kalyn, international business consultant with Peacock said clients are trying to work through the constant changing criteria while considering finding new partners to do business with. “potentially looking into some new markets, maybe in the EU, maybe in China and as Carney has been on record saying,” Kalyn said. “But in the interim, it is very intense businesses need to be super organized, there’s a lot of concern about keeping the lights on right now.” Adding the tariffs won’t be felt overnight but in the long term. “We’re going to see higher charges, higher costs at the register and there’s a good chance that groceries are going to go up even more than they already have,” said Kalyn. “The industries that are affected are vast, even the cost of homes down the road can increase because of this.” Kalyn and her team urging businesses to get compliant with the new tariffs, or face severe penalties. “Be proactive ,be organized, make sure your paperwork is clean,” said Kalyn, “We will be getting more information as time goes on on those relief programs, but, do everything that you can ahead of it.” CTV News did reach out to Napoleon and Honda Canada Manufacturing; two of the largest employers in our region and both confirmed they would not be directly affected by the new tariffs and operations continue as normal.
