U.S. tariffs on Manitoba products would drastically impact businesses

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This article was published 16/02/2025 (403 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The U.S. threat of 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods on March 6 will definitely have an impact on local businesses and farms operating in the Southeast.

Loewen Windows and pork producers do significant trade with the U.S. of which more than 80 percent to 90 percent of all revenue comes from south of the border.

“Most of our products are destined for homes in the United States and the Caribbean,” said Jon Sawatzky, vice-president of marketing for Loewen Windows. “We have distributors that cover the continental U.S., along with Hawaii and Alaska. This volume of exports varies in any given year but typically hovers around 80 percent.”

Loewen has been operating in Steinbach for 120 years selling premium windows and doors to consumers across North America.

Sawatzky said the company would immediately look at reducing “non-critical expenses” such as roof or parking lot repairs and deferring some projects if tariffs were to be implemented, but he said the company would try to maintain its workforce.

“Our biggest asset is our team. They have incredible skills and knowledge, and we’ll do everything possible to protect them,” he said.

Manitoba sells more than $450 million worth of pork into the United States every year and ships between three million and 3.5 million live animals that are worth more than $200 million.

“We would see both an impact on the amount of pork we ship south as well as live animals,” said Cam Dahl, general manager at Manitoba Pork. “To what degree I don’t know the answer to that yet, but it would be a significant impact, and it would have an impact on farmers and jobs across the province.”

The pork industry supports 22,000 jobs in Manitoba and contributes $2.3 billion a year to the provincial GDP.

“A significant downturn in the pork sector in Manitoba would impact every part of this province,” said Dahl.

Dahl noted tariffs would make U.S. consumers pay more for pork products and it would impact American farmers who won’t get ready access to Canadian pigs.

Both Sawatzky and Dahl say a 30-day reprieve is welcomed and allows Loewen and Manitoba Pork to engage with clients and government officials, respectively.

“We don’t trade with the U.S. because we’re being nice. We trade because it’s good business and it’s good business both sides of the border,” said Dahl, who is currently in U.S. to lobby the Minnesota government and Minnesota pork producers on how they might work together.

Both men think the province is doing well in supporting and promoting local businesses south of the border and within Canada.

Chambers of Commerce from across Canada recently sent an open letter to all the premiers to dismantle interprovincial trade barriers to combat the 25 percent tariffs that the U.S. might impose on Canadian goods.

“At a time of geopolitical uncertainty, rising protectionism and looming tariff threats, addressing internal trade barriers is no longer an option; it’s a necessity,” stated the letter. “These barriers cost businesses and consumers billions of dollars annually, driving up expenses and limiting growth. Some researchers have likened this to a 21 percent tariff.”

The letter expressed that removing these barriers could boost Canada’s GDP by as much as seven percent, which could be worth $200 billion for the economy. Others have estimated that doing so could boost GDP per capita by 3.8 percent.

“Any way one looks at it, this would be greater than the potential impact of proposed U.S. tariffs,” stated the letter.

The Trump administration recently announced it will be imposing 25 percent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum come March 12 which will be compounded by the additional blanket tariff on March 4 making the total tariffs 50 percent on steel and aluminum.