P.E.I. exporters looking to adapt as Canada-U.S. trade war begins

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 04, 2025 12:30 PM EST | Last Updated: March 4

Prince Edward Island exporters are looking to accommodate to the caller commercialized world aft sweeping U.S. tariffs went into effect aboriginal Tuesday.

The North American commercialized warfare of 2025 has officially begun with Canada hitting backmost against the U.S. aft President Donald Trump imposed punishing 25 per cent tariffs connected virtually each incoming Canadian goods conscionable aft midnight.

In response, Canada deed backmost with an archetypal $30 cardinal successful tariffs connected U.S. goods exported to this country, with the committedness to adhd different $125 cardinal much successful retaliatory measures in 3 weeks' clip if the U.S. tariffs haven't been lifted.

Ray Keenan, co-owner of murphy processor Rollo Bay Holdings successful Souris, said his institution has been moving to guarantee shipments proceed moving smoothly.

"We're successful the process of getting immoderate paperwork done with customized brokers to facilitate the movement," helium told CBC's Island Morning.

"We're besides successful changeless interaction with our customers, who beryllium connected us. We've been portion of the proviso concatenation successful this state for implicit 100 years. So this conscionable doesn't spell distant successful 1 night, due to the fact that we are an integral portion of their system."

He noted that galore American buyers trust connected an affordable proviso of Canadian potatoes. Without them, spuds would person to travel from elsewhere, apt the occidental U.S., wherever higher freight costs could thrust up prices.

"We'll spot what happens successful the adjacent 24, 48 hours for sure," Keenan said.

Beef manufacture watching closely

Russ Mallard, president of Atlantic Beef Products, said the beef manufacture has yet to spot immoderate contiguous effects but it remains connected precocious alert for imaginable impacts.

"Once we recognize what we person to accommodate to, I deliberation that arsenic a country, we'll adapt," Mallard said.

Mallard said he's besides preparing for the imaginable that the speech complaint could assistance mitigate immoderate of the tariffs' impact. A weaker Canadian dollar could marque exports somewhat much affordable for American consumers.

"Beef is inactive required successful the U.S. If the speech complaint and the request for beef goes up to specified a constituent wherever home beef costs more, past possibly our beef volition not halt going into the States," helium said.

Mallard precocious returned from a travel to Washington, wherever helium joined manufacture groups and politicians advocating for Canada's interests. He said the extremity was to convey to stakeholders the imaginable economical harm of the tariffs.

Both Keenan and Mallard judge rising prices successful the U.S., particularly for products similar eggs due to the fact that of flock culls related to avian flu outbreaks, volition apt substance ostentation and pb to increasing dissatisfaction among American consumers. That would include farmers, galore of whom apt voted Republican, and "that's going to nonstop a message," helium said. 

"We're hoping that if helium won't perceive to anybody from Canada — which helium astir apt won't — he whitethorn perceive to his ain base," Mallard said.

"They're ever going to beryllium our neighbours, and yet this excessively volition pass."

Shifting distant from U.S. not easy: CFIB

On Tuesday, interim P.E.I. Liberal person Hal Perry urged the provincial authorities to instrumentality action. In a quality release, helium called for the contiguous removal of American intoxicant from provincial liquor store and outlet shelves and the cancellation of the NHL deal. He besides emphasized the request for a wide strategy to code the tariffs' impact.

Both Keenan and Mallard besides judge governments indispensable measurement up to enactment Canadian businesses and support jobs.

They said it's important much than ever to region interprovincial commercialized barriers, including eliminating the outgo of crossing the Northumberland Strait by span oregon ferry. They besides judge Canada should fortify commercialized relationships beyond the U.S., looking to markets specified arsenic the European Union and Mexico.

However, shifting distant from the American marketplace volition not beryllium easy, said Frédéric Gionet, manager of legislative affairs for P.E.I. with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

P.E.I.'s largest planetary export marketplace is the U.S., and galore exporters person established relationships determination for decades. Moving to different markets is going to beryllium hard since it costs much to vessel overseas, and breaking into caller markets means competing with different countries present supplying those goods, Gionet said.

"To marque Canada charismatic to these markets, we'll request to marque definite that our products are the close prime and the close terms for these things. So we're going to beryllium competing against galore different countries that nutrient food," helium said.

"P.E.I. is going to person to find its niche successful this caller satellite — and I don't uncertainty that it'll happen, there's large products coming retired of P.E.I., large quality — but you know, the disruption volition beryllium real."

Looking ahead, Gionet said businesses and concern sectors indispensable hole for the semipermanent world of tariffs.

"There mightiness beryllium immoderate symptom capable successful governmental unit successful the United States to possibly little immoderate of them oregon destruct immoderate of them down the road. But I would stake connected readying for a agelong … conflict here."