Tariffs could cause damage for Tillsonburg locals

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Tillsonburg won’t be immune if U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs come into force in the future.

Things were down to the wire on Monday before tariffs were to start on Tuesday, when Trump announced a 30-day reprieve on the tariffs in exchange for increased border security.

Mayor Deb Gilvesy said it’s hard to quantify potential damage if the tariffs came in place, but she had concerns in a few sectors.

“I am very concerned about the manufacturing sector and any potential looming layoffs,” she said. “The auto industry will face immense pressure and even though the Town of Tillsonburg has diversified its industry, the tariffs will also have a negative effect on the food industry and any other manufacturers with U.S. contracts. The surrounding area that feeds into our town is highly agricultural, which will also face challenges in the U.S. market. In 2022 alone, the U.S. imported over $37 billion of agriculture goods from Canada.”

Tillsonburg BIA executive director Mark Renaud said he was grocery shopping on the weekend and saw people pick up products, look at the labels and put the products back if it wasn’t Canadian. The BIA is also encouraging its members that manufacture products to register those products at madeinca.ca

Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, noted how intertwined the Canadian and American supply chains are. She suggested if President Trump wanted to bring down the cost of goods for Americans, he would look at strengthening trade ties, not tearing them apart. Over the next 30 days, she said it will allow more time for Canadian businesses and government to “drive home the point tariffs make no sense.”

“Nevertheless, with tariffs on the table, the turmoil and uncertainty persist,” Laing said. “Tariffs tomorrow instead of tariffs today still leaves businesses, workers and families in the lurch. This is not a game we want to play when livelihoods depend on existing U.S. relationships. For some provinces and communities, the continued risks of these changes are a body blow.”

At Sobey’s, owners John and Wendy Cameron noticed customers are asking which products are Canadian. Prior to the delay in implementation of tariffs, they also noticed an uptick in sales of American alcohol products with customers buying large quantities.

Marwood International Inc. is one of the local automotive manufacturers with large exports to the U.S. Tyler Wood, vice-president of business development at Marwood, said the company exports between 60 to 75 per cent of its products to the U.S. He explained the automotive industry is dependent on parts manufactured in all three countries. While Trump states he is trying to get people to buy American-made vehicles, Wood says there isn’t enough manufacturing capacity in the States to meet the demand.

“If we assume that the latest threat from President Trump does become law, it will be extremely impactful for virtually every industry and would have a drastic negative impact on the US consumer because ultimately, and counter to the narrative that President Trump likes to push, it is the consumer who will bear the brunt of any tariff regardless of whatever that value may be,” Wood said. “This is because businesses will do whatever they need to in order to survive and they are not in a position to absorb much, if any, tariff value and remain sustainable.

He predicted if the tariffs come into force, orders would be status quo in the short term, followed by massive declines in orders in the long term. That would result in huge layoffs in all three countries, Wood maintains.