Licensed establishments and American truckers could be hit hard if BC pushes back on its proposed counter-tariffs on the United States.
Premier David Eby hinted the province could stop buying and selling American liquor including California wines or Jack Daniels whiskey, which consists of the second biggest bracket of alcohol sales in BC.
Jeff Guignard with ABLE BC told Vista Radio any fallout on popular American products will hurt an already-reeling hospitality industry.
“I think we are just trying to get the United States attention, to let the know there are serious consequences to their actions. This would impact an industry in BC that generates 15 billion dollars of economic activity and employs a quarter-million people in the province.”
“I know the politicians are doing the best they can to come up with a solution to this, but starting to ban products from each jurisdiction doesn’t feel like the right solution to us.”
“Our countries do about 2 billion dollars of trade every single day. BC’s liquor industry is intensely tied into the Americans as well. We sell wines from California, Washington and Oregon, we sell whiskeys from Tennessee and, beers from all over. A decision like this would not only hurt liquor and hospitality here but it would hurt the manufacturing sector in the United States.”
If Eby’s counter-measures do take hold, businesses will be forced to look overseas for replacement products, which will result in a more costly and less efficient model of doing business.
“So, the supply chain is longer, it will take longer to get here and it will be much more expensive. What will happen is businesses will have to charge more and frustrate consumers in an environment where everyone is dealing with affordability concerns. They won’t be raising prices to make more, money, they will be doing it because our cost of doing business will go through the roof.”
“If you ban US products we are going to do our best to replace those products and our domestic supply can fill some of that but consumers will look at some of the provinces like maybe Alberta who might not be banning products, will just order from there instead.”
BC Trucking Association President and CEO, Dave Earle of Prince George stated the province could charge truckers to travel through the province to Alaska, which would have an impact on shipping everyday items.
“Scratch out liquor and put in lettuce or softwood lumber, or pulp or metal products. Fill in the blank of anything whether it’s agricultural products or anything that we produce and that is the conversation. That is what is at stake.”
“That underpinning of economic certainty and prosperity that we have enjoyed as a nation for more than a century is under a direct threat and that is what we really need to understand and be careful of. How we act, what we do, and the decisions we make at a personal level as well as at a business and corporate level and a municipal and provincial level is what is going to matter.”
Earle stated given the northern capital is considered a major hub, truck traffic to the Alaska border might become a lot less through our region.
“They are limited (access points to Alaska). When we look at the commercial crossings and marine issues, which will not be captured by this but the next crossing when you look at the map and consider the primary crossing goes into the Yukon territory. So how does this work from a practical perspective? I don’t know.”
25% of BC Trucking Association Members make trips south of the border.
The province remains in a holding pattern when it comes to retaliatory measures as Trump said the tariffs on Canadian imports could come into effect February 1st.
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