Strait Area of N.S. braces for impact of U.S. tariffs

In a region of Nova Scotia where heavy industries, franchises and mom-and-pop stores live side by side, businesses of every size are digging in their heels as a bilateral trade war threatens their bottom line. 

The Strait of Canso area and its economic development sector have spent weeks preparing for U.S. President Donald Trump's long-threatened 25 per cent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. The tariffs went into effect this week, with Canada responding by placing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. 

While representatives of the two countries spent most of Wednesday trying to strike a compromise, business and municipal leaders in the Strait Area weren't waiting for an announcement from Ottawa or Washington to spring into action. 

Tanya Felix, the executive director of the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce, said Trump's month-long pause on the implementation of tariffs gave her organization the opportunity to reach out to its 380 members. 

They include everything from small convenience stores and restaurants to the region's largest employer, the Port Hawkesbury Paper mill in Point Tupper. It has 325 people on staff and indirectly employs another 700 people in areas like woodlands.

The mill, which exports 90 per cent of its products to the U.S., dealt with a 20 per cent tariff from 2015 to 2018 after American papermakers complained that Port Hawkesbury Paper was unfairly subsidized. However, Felix is concerned about the effect a second round of tariffs could have.

"Should employers like that be impacted, of course our entire region would be impacted," she said. 

She said the chamber has heard concerns from several other businesses, particularly auto dealerships, contractors and those in the food service sector. 

"If you run a small restaurant and you're buying some of your food and products from the United States, it may mean that you have to change what's on your menu or charge a bit more for it," Felix said. "These will probably be the first impact of the tariffs in the coming months."

Both Felix and Port Hawkesbury Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton have lauded the provincial and federal governments for implementing measures to counter the U.S. tariffs. 

Those include a renewed emphasis on the Nova Scotia Local campaign, the doubling of tolls at the Cobequid Pass for commercial vehicles from the U.S., and the removal of American alcohol from Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation shelves. 

Chisholm-Beaton also praised Port Hawkesbury residents for taking matters into their own hands at supermarkets and grocery stores by scrutinizing labels and looking for Canadian alternatives to American products.

"That very small act of being purposeful, even in a grocery store, is going to have a ripple effect nationally," Chisholm-Beaton said. "There's empowerment in that." 

Meanwhile, the head of a lobby group for economic development in Cape Breton feels the Strait Area business community can weather the U.S. tariffs by seeking out new markets.