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CBC
24-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Canada should look at strengthening European trade ties in face of U.S. trade war, says trade expert
With a Canada-U.S. trade war lingering on, one trade expert says the country should look eastward to Europe to further strengthen economic ties — and one Newfoundland and Labrador seafood producer says he's already seeing it happen. Mark Camilleri, a lawyer and CEO of the Canada EU Trade and Investment Association, said the trade relationship between Canada and the European Union is good, but could be better. "Since we've signed the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in 2016, the trade has certainly increased. Trading goods has gone up basically 65 per cent, trading services 73 per cent. So it's going from strength to strength," Camilleri said. It comes at a time when both counties are facing escalation tariffs on their goods entering the U.S., with 25 per cent tariffs expected to come into effect on April 2. Chinese tariffs came into effect this week. When it comes to Canada's raw materials, energy and other exports, he said there is room for growth in Europe. However, Camilleri said finding a replacement for the U.S. market isn't going to be an easy process, adding there's a lot of infrastructure already in place for selling Canadian goods to the U.S. "I do think there's a fair amount of work that needs to be done in terms of developing the infrastructure to help facilitate that trade and to help it grow." Previously, Canada trading with the EU was treated as something that was "nice to have" but it has now become necessary and this is the time to look at ways to improve the relationship, said Camilleri. "I think any new government, certainly would be looking at trade diversification. And I think when you think about trade diversification, it really makes sense to look at the European Union," he said. Already at work Danny Dumaresque, president of Labrador Gem Seafoods, said seafood producers need to pivot to the European market, given the prospect of double tariffs. "There's no question, we have to move yesterday to try and get ahead of the existing tariff situation," he told CBC News. "I just spent two weeks in Europe, in Spain, Italy, France and the U.K. And I can tell you that is the principal target market for me and, I would suggest, for all seafood companies in this province." There is an appetite in Europe for seafood, Dumaresque added, adding they appreciate the high quality of seafood that is caught off Newfoundland and Labrador. "I am confident that we will be able to make inroads in Europe," he said, which is eased by the existing EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. "This agreement cannot be unilaterally changed by any one person like we have seen in the United States with President Trump and in the Chinese situation with President Xi," said Dumaresque. The products he sells, like scallops, are in demand worldwide, he said. He also secured a deal with a French company at the Boston seafood show, a relationship he began on his trip to Paris. Dumaresque said Europe is sympathetic to the situation Canada finds itself in with the U.S. and China. "It's certainly a challenge for our industry. But I do believe that it was a wake-up call that we required. And there's always going to be success stories. And I'm certainly pleased, at this stage, to have had some luck in the past short while." But Dumaresque also said the U.S. still has an appetite for Canadian seafood. "I just came from Boston and there's no slacking in the demand for our delicious snow crab products. So that will not change."
CBC
12-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Chinese tariffs on Canadian seafood would serve 'devastating' double whammy, fisheries council says
The Fisheries Council of Canada says tariffs on Canadian seafood entering China spells disaster for the industry — including in Newfoundland and Labrador — and serves as a double whammy with U.S. tariffs already in play. China announced it would impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian seafood effective March 20 as a retaliatory measure to Canadian tariffs on steel, aluminum and electric vehicles in the fall. The list of over 40 products facing the tariff includes lobster, crab, shrimp, halibut and more. "Some of the fisheries, some of the species that go to China, are almost exclusively going to China," council chair Alberto Wareham told CBC News from Arnold's Cove, N.L. on Tuesday. "The Chinese tariffs coming on top of the potential U.S. tariffs is devastating for many of our members." U.S. President Donald Trump has also said tariffs on all goods from Canada will be brought into effect on April 2. Wareham said 16 per cent of Canadian seafood gets exported to China, and 67 per cent gets exported to the U.S. That means 83 per cent of all seafood exported from Canada would be tariffed by April 2. "A lot of companies have a big problem here," Wareham said. "We need government of Canada support, we need the provincial government supports across Canada to find a way to keep these businesses going." Wareham says there are other Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries that will feel the impact of Chinese tariffs, including sea cucumber and cold water shrimp. "To lose that market is devastation, and you can't pivot away that fast," he said. "We have members that are facing catastrophic [impacts] in their business on short notice." Danny Dumaresque, president of Labrador Gem Seafoods, told CBC News he doesn't sell his product to China but knows the market's importance to others in the province and across Canada. "The slack from the United States market was being picked up by China, and now of course that appears to be slammed shut," Dumaresque said in a recent interview. WATCH | The CBC's Carolyn Stokes reports on the risks posed by Chinese tariffs: N.L. seafood industry to take a hit from Chinese tariffs against Canada 39 minutes ago Duration 2:28 The CBC's Carolyn Stokes describes how experts in the fishery are fearing that Chinese tariffs against Canadian seafood will devastate the industry. Dumaresque says he's thinking about business in other parts of Asia, specifically in Hong Kong. "One of the major concerns I got now is whether this Chinese tariff is actually going to apply to Hong Kong. Because, you know, it's still not clear if they are operating as a separate economic entity, or if the decree actually applies to them," he said. "I have been in communication, for example, with a couple of companies over there. And now I don't know if there's any point."
