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CBC
17-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Tariff fears and high stakes for Atlantic Canada at the Boston Seafood Expo
Seafood industry reps from more than 50 countries are in Boston for what is usually an exciting three days of meetings, showcases, and networking at the annual Seafood Expo North America. This year, though, the stakes have never been higher for Atlantic Canadians. Fears of potential industry-rocking tariffs from the United States and China are overshadowing everything happening on the show floor. Bruce Wilson, a lobster fisherman from New Brunswick, told CBC News he's scared of what effect tariffs could have on his business and his community, and he hopes he can share that message with other people at the expo. "Who's going to absorb that tariff? Whether it's 25 [per cent], 10 per cent, 15, is it just the fisherman? The consumer? Or everybody else?" Wilson said Sunday. "Even if it's only five per cent … Even the corner store needs to keep up." The largest gathering of its kind on the continent, Seafood Expo North America gives the world a chance to explore new markets — something top of mind for Canada, and its provinces and territories. The expo is playing out during a moment of potential crisis for the Canadian seafood landscape, as economic tariffs that would apply to seafood loom large, along with uncertainty about what will happen if the new charges do happen. Canada exports 67 per cent of its seafood product to the United States, and U.S. President Donald Trump has said tariffs will resume on April 2 after postponing them earlier this month. Meanwhile, China says their 25 per cent tariff will come into effect on Thursday. Both will apply to seafood. WATCH | Tariffs are already part of show floor conversations: Tariff fears take centre stage at Boston Seafood Expo 4 minutes ago Duration 1:00 Neil Targett, a member of the sales and logistics team at Corner Brook's Barry Group of Companies, says the idea of 25 per cent tariffs from the United States and China on Canadian seafood is a hot topic on the floor of Seafood Expo North America in Boston. He spoke about what he's hearing with the CBC's Leila Beaudoin. "The 25 per cent is really affecting the base profit," Wilson said. "It might be very dangerous for the livelihood of fishermen." Neil Targett, part of the Barry Group of Companies based in Corner Brook, N.L., said although it's still early in the event, the conversations he's had on the show floor so far have all included talk of tariffs. "No one knows what's really going to be happening," he said. "Will it change? It may change many times between now and then. Everyone's really nervous." Relationships will help weather storm, officials say Canadian officials opened the show by highlighting decades of collaboration between Canada and the United States — and stressing to the crowd that relationship will be even more necessary in the future. "The relationships that we have here are extremely important, and we're hoping that all of you are ambassadors for Canada," Bernadette Jordan, Canada's consul general in Boston and a former federal fisheries minister, told a crowd. "It's important that we all stand together, and I think this is a great place for us to show our strength." Speaking with CBC News, Jordan said part of her message to people at the show also focuses on the effect tariffs could have on both Canada and the U.S. She says New Englanders generally understand that. "New England gets a lot of its energy from Canada. They get their home heating, they get their malt and barley for craft beer. You know, there's an awful lot of trade between the two countries, and it is going to impact consumers," she said. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said part of the show will involve working through that concern. "We have an incredible product from Atlantic Canada, from Nova Scotia. That product is desired around the world," he said. "The tariffs may have an impact on pricing, but we'll work through that. And I'm here to support them any way I can."
CBC
07-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Tariffs have caused 'chaos, confusion' for Nova Scotia's seafood sector
Nova Scotians in the seafood industry are used to dealing with uncertainty, whether it's rough seas, the ebb and flow of market prices or rising costs — but the provincial fisheries minister says the current tariff dispute with the United States has caused a previously unknown level of upheaval. Kent Smith asked a staffer to connect with industry players this week to find out how they were coping with the prospect of U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariffs. "A common theme across the board was uncertainty, chaos, confusion, not necessarily understanding how to pay, who to pay," Kent told reporters Thursday at Province House. "There was a lot of chaos." Speaking before the latest pause on the 25 per cent tariff on Canadian imports, Kent said it was imperative for the industry to find markets other than the U.S., and that search would take him and industry representatives south of the border later this month for the Boston Seafood Expo. "I appreciate the irony, yes, but we need to connect our exporters with importers," said Smith. "It just so happens that this international seafood show takes place in Boston, and that's where the buyers and importers will be from all over the world. We'll be doing everything that we can to connect our exporters with international buyers." N.S. sent over $1B worth of seafood to U.S. in 2024 Nova Scotia is Canada's top seafood exporter, sending $1.23 billion worth to the U.S. in 2024. For comparison, $614 million worth was exported to China last year and another $241 million to the European Union. Smith said he's hoping that local companies will be able to, at the very least, make new connections ahead of the world's largest seafood show in Spain later this spring. "I've heard that a lot of relationships get initiated in Boston and then by the time we get to Barcelona in May, we get some deals done, and some product actually moving from one place to another," he said. Premier Tim Houston told reporters, before Washington announced the latest "pause" on tariffs, that temporary measures were not the least bit helpful or appreciated. "The one month, one month, one month, it's incredibly mean-spirited," said Houston. "We can't live for four years, one month at a time. "So I'm hopeful that the tariffs come off and the president realizes the damage he'll do to the American economy and the Canadian economy." Smith tried to put a brave face on what has been an incredibly disruptive few weeks for the seafood industry. "Crises are not foreign for our province to deal with," said Smith. "This one is causing a lot of uncertainty. "We'll get through it."
CBC
04-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
N.L. holding $200M in contingency to soften impact of U.S. tariffs
Newfoundland and Labrador is preparing for U.S. tariffs by holding $200 million in contingency money to soften any potential blows to industry and labour. Finance Minister Siobhan Coady said the province has its "elbows up," and there has to be some "flexibility with liquidity for companies who will have some challenges in inventory." "They may need some assistance in inventory. We may have to help in the fisheries if the bottom goes out of the buying market," Coady said. United States President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods on Tuesday morning, after a month-long delay from his original threat. In addition to the $200 million contingency, Coady said the province is considering diversifying its economy and strengthening its trade relationships with other countries, including Japan. She said Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne is traveling to Massachusetts in less than two weeks for the Boston Seafood Expo, and called the trip as a trade mission. But tariffs and contingency plans didn't take centre stage during the majority of question period in the House of Assembly on Tuesday. The provincial Tories, who have the majority of the time to challenge the governing Liberals in the legislature, didn't ask a single question related to tariffs. Instead, the party again focused primarily on the province's controversial land deals. This earned the provincial NDP some praise from the Liberals, after Jordan Brown, MHA for Labrador West, used his time to ask the province about its plans to push back against the United States. Coady said the PCs missed the moment by avoiding tariffs. "It's very concerning that the opposition didn't think that this was the most important issue of the day. It certainly is," she said. When the House is in session, the NDP waits its turn behind the opposition Tories to question the provincial government. Brown said it was shocking to be the only person to stand up and ask about tariffs on the day the measures were imposed. "It was very just surreal to know that the Conservatives, the party that's supposedly for business, never mentioned it once in the House of Assembly, and this was announced midnight last night," he said. "It just blows me away to think that this is where we're to." PC Leader Tony Wakeham didn't explicitly explain why the party didn't ask the governing Liberals about tariffs on Tuesday. "We've acknowledged the issue with tariffs before. I've spoken about the significant impact tariffs will have on our industries before, but I've also spoken about the need for plans and the fact that the government hasn't got a plan," Wakeham said. He added that his party is aware of the removal of United States liquor from store shelves and the province's buy local campaign. "There was nothing that we've heard yet from the minister," Wakeham said, pointing to a statement the party released Tuesday morning, which asked for a plan to be tabled to help mitigate uncertainty in the fishery.
