The agricultural economists at Canada’s Agri-Food Economic Systems are calling for detailed analysis of the Canadian industry in order to deal with pressure being applied by United States President Donald Trump.
So far the Canadian government has prepared a list of U.S. products to which it will apply tariffs if Trump imposes tariffs on Canadian exports.
But Al Mussel, lead researcher at Agri-Food Economic Systems, said that’s a tactic when what’s needed is a strategy.
He said the first step in developing strategy is to understand ourselves, meaning which businesses are heavily dependant on exports to the United States, which ones need imports from the United States, and which ones could tap other export markets or scale up to supply the Canadian market if imports are subjected to Canadian tariffs.
This requires a lot of research and work, they say in their recent report, and it should begin while we’re waiting to see what Trump will do after his 30-day reprieve of tariffs of 25 per cent on everything from Canada is on hold – everything, that is, except oil and gas at 10 per cent.
“Organizations- agri-food businesses, industries, and ministries of agriculture- need to use this time to understand themselves very deeply and realistically to identify their interests with respect to the U.S.,” the Agri-Food Economic Systems report said.
“Preparation will be paramount. As a rule of thumb, take whatever level of preparation thought to be sufficient and double it so as to be prepared for a situation in flux, and the fog of war.
“Some firms and organizations have the resources they need for this; others will be pressed. Governments can offer exceptional support to facilitate preparation.
“A Team Canada approach is a term used widely now, which means different things to different people. As it is applied here, it means preparation by the breadth of players in the agri-food sector individually, so that we can quickly and durably come up with a consensus to feed into the Canadian position and strategy, and provide guidance for adjustment as situations move in flux.”
The Agri-Food Economic Systems team is Mussel, Doug Hedley and Ted Bilyea.
