BC Cities, in general, would be among the least vulnerable in Canada if the president of the United States, Donald Trump, follow the tariff threats, according to new data from the Chamber of Commerce of Canada.
That does not mean that British columbia would not suffer: the main economist of the camera, Stephen Tapp, says that these rates would be recourse to the whole country.
“I don’t think anyone is really completely isolated from Trump’s tariff threats,” he told CBC’s Daybreak Kamloop Doug Herbert guest host. “But I think that BC economies in our numbers are much less exposed than some of the other places in the country.”
The Chamber Commercial Data Laboratory analyzed the information of Statistics Canada of 41 cities in Canada with populations of more than 100,000 people. This means that the data is missing when it comes to rural Canadians, who also have a personal interest in Canada’s commercial relationship with the United States.
From there, they evaluate how much each city exports to the US.
Kamloops, located 253 kilometers northeast of Vancouver, classified in 40 of 41 cities, would be the second most resistant in case the United States imposes tariffs on Canadian products, according to camera calculations.
Kamloop exports to the United States represent approximately 2.3 percent of the city’s GDP, well below the national average of approximately 20 percent, said TapP, and only about 15 percent of its exports go to states Joined.
UBC economist Ross Hickey said that Kamloop is in a good situation, since they do not trust the US for trade as other communities do, but the city has been lost a “ideal” commercial partner.
“US markets are where Canadian producers are from,” he said. “USA. It is the world’s largest consumer market, very high income, high population and is right next to it.
“Trade with the United States will not disappear due to tariffs. Tariffs will make trade less favorable … but there are still opportunities for economic integration with the United States.”
Nanaimo, 307 kilometers southwest of Kamloops on the island of Vancouver, is not far from Kamloop; US exports represent about 4.1 percent of the city’s GDP, while just over 30 percent of their exports go to the United States.
Victoria, Kelowna, Vancouver and Chilliwack are at the lower end of the scale in terms of tariff exposure. The only city of BC that could see a really negative impact, according to the camera data, would be the mission of Abbotsford, which classified 15 of the 41 cities and is located along the border with Canada-United States.
“Obviously there is some regional variation,” said TapP. “But I think that one of the main benefits of economies in both coasts, but particularly for BC, is that there is much more commerce with Asian economies and much less dependence on the US market. “
Hickey said that although BC is certainly more isolated from future tariffs, the province has already suffered when soft wood tariffs almost double last year.
But Hickey said that he has focused a lot on how tariffs could affect Canadians, but not enough on how policies south of the border could push the United States to a recess greater impact on the economy of Canada.
“If Trump’s policies reduce the income of Americans, that is not good for us as a commercial partner,” he said. “I don’t wish badly with our business partners, I hope they recover from the madness that is taking place at this time.”
