The head of an organization that advocates farmers in Saskatchewan says that farmers in the province face uncertainty, and the probability that they have to accept less money for their crops, after punishing commercial tariffs launched on Saturday by the president of the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
Trump launched a commercial war against Canada by imposing a rate of 25 percent to practically all the assets of this country. Canadian energy products will be subject to 10 percent, according to an informative sheet of the White House sent to CBC News.
These potentially devastating rates will enter into force on Tuesday and will remain in place until Trump is satisfied that Canada is doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl in the United States, according to the information sheet.
Bill Prybylski, president of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan, said that to compete with other producers in the global market in the light of the rates, Canadian farmers can have to sell their crops for less.
This is because US buyers can obtain the same crops from other farmers who do not have to pay the rate, so Canadian producers will have to reduce their prices to realize.
On the other hand, capital expenses such as the agricultural team, which come largely from the United States, will become more expensive, he said.
“We are going to get less for our products and pay more for the things we need,” said Prybylski.
“Our hope is that, as consumers in the United States realize that their prices will rise because rates make things more expensive for them, they will press their government to terminate that.”
According to the Saskatchewan government, the total value of goods and services exported by the province to the United States in 2023 was $ 26.9 billion. That represented 54.8 percent of the total exports of the province.
That same year, a third of Saskatchewan’s foreign agricultural exports went to the United States, with a value of $ 6,68 billion.
Jeremy Welter, a farmer in the center-west of Saskatchewan, said he hopes that the rates “believe a lot of economic pressure and a lot of economic pain.”
“And I hate saying it, I don’t think everyone succeeds,” he said.
“A 25 percent tariff in Canada would give us worse access to the US market than to another 166 countries of the World Trade Organization. We would be just above Russia and North Korea,” Welter said.
“This is how Donald Trump sees Canada.”
The prime ministers of Canada, including Saskatchewan Prime Minister Scott Moe, were scheduled to meet at 4 pm and Saturday afternoon to discuss an answer to new rates. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce an answer at 6 PM et.
