Latest news with #BeothicFishProcessors
CBC
25-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
N.L. seafood producers brace for impact of Chinese tariffs
China's 25 per cent tariff on Canadian seafood could have Newfoundland and Labrador producers fighting a trade war on two fronts. The new tariff came into effect March 20. China represents Canada's second largest seafood market after the U.S., which could also have Canadian seafood tariffs in place April 2. Paul Grant, executive vice-president of Beothic Fish Processors in Valleyfield, N.L. and former board chair of the Association of Seafood Producers, says producers are in a difficult situation even without more tariffs. The tariffs also come amid snow crab quota tensions, and as negotiations for the price of crab continue ahead of other fisheries. "It's very difficult to get people to come to grips with the reality," said Grant. "We can't simply pass this on to the customer. It's just not going to happen." Grant says the lobster and turbot fisheries could be affected as well. While the snow crab season is set to begin April 1, Dwan Street, president of the Food, Fisheries and Allied Workers' Union, says China isn't a major market for Newfoundland and Labrador crab — but it is for sea cucumber, which starts in May. Street says that gives them some time. "We're hopeful that the federal government can help negotiate with the Chinese and those tariffs will hopefully go away," said Street. "You're looking at hypothetical because by the time our fishery starts, it might just all be off the table." According to Statistics Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador exported over a billion dollars of seafood to China in 2024, representing around 20 per cent of the Canadian seafood industry. China's tariffs are in retaliation for levies Ottawa introduced in October on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminum products. They include a 100 per cent tariff on rapeseed oil and peas, and a 25 per cent tariff on seafood and pork.
CBC
04-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Trump tariffs will bring costs up, hurt N.L. consumers, says business prof
With U.S. President Donald Trump moving forward with tariffs on Canadian goods, a business leader in Newfoundland and Labrador says they add uncertainty to an already problematic time. Paul Grant, vice-president of Beothic Fish Processors in Valleyfield, N.L. and board chair of the Association of Seafood Producers, says there's pressure on both producers and harvesters — especially as the two sides aim to reach a collective agreement before the snow crab season. "We can't move forward and have a collective agreement assuming there's not going to be any tariffs. And we certainly don't want to produce with no tariffs and sell with tariffs," Grant told CBC News Friday. "We don't have a solution right now. So there's a lot of pressure on both sides to figure out a way through this." Grant says he believes about 75 to 80 per cent of the product at his plant goes to the United States — and that the 25 per cent tariff would be felt in every industry. "On a load of crab sections, [a tariff means] probably $75,000 extra. On a load of lobster meat — and when I say a load I mean container load — perhaps $350,000 extra. So somebody has to pay that, and it's not just as simple as passing it onto the consumer," he said. "Maybe the consumer has to pay a little bit more. We will certainly have to be part of it, and harvesters will have to be part of it." Disruption tactic Tom Cooper, a business professor at Memorial University, says the U.S. president thrives under uncertainty. On top of exporting, Cooper says business owners will also likely see increased importing costs through retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products entering Canada. "Trump is the great disrupter. This is strategy for him, this is a negotiation strategy," Cooper told CBC News Monday — before the tariffs were official. "Trump's negotiating approach is that if he creates a lot of uncertainty.… He thinks it's good for him." And while there's still uncertainty on how the tariffs will be felt in Newfoundland and Labrador, there's no doubt they will have an impact, he says. "I think that costs are going to go up," said Cooper. "If our products go up even 10, 15 per cent, we're going to notice that. And that's going to be a challenge, especially for people on fixed income, seniors." However, he's also optimistic the impacts will be limited because of the planning that was able to happen in the time between the threat from Trump and the implementation of tariffs. "The impact of this, it's not going to be catastrophic because I think we've built up a lot of resiliencies as a country," he said. "But it's going to hurt." Contingency plan Speaking with reporters on Monday, Finance Minister Siobhan Coady said the province is continuing preparations for the 2025-26 budget with tariffs in mind. Coady said a standard three-month interim supply bill will enter the House of Assembly this week while the budget is being prepared, but the province is still exploring how tariffs could fit into the picture. "You can always prepare for challenges that you seek, you know, by looking at placing money in contingency, for example," Coady said Monday. "We don't know what the impact of these tariffs are, so you could put extra money in contingency to allow you the flexibility and the quickness of which you can respond." Nova Scotia placed $200 million in contingency in its budget to deal with a response to the tariffs, while other provinces, like Alberta, included different scenarios based on the impact.
