The president of the Kent Federation of Agriculture (KFA) says local farmers are not too worried about a possible 25 per cent tariff on their exports into the U.S., at least not at the moment.
KFA President Brad Snobelen told CK News Today that America has "become reliant" on agri-products from southwestern Ontario, Ontario, and Canada and they "need us as much as we need them."
Snobelen said southwestern Ontario exports a lot of crop across the border to the U.S., but it's difficult to tell how much of an impact the 25 per cent tariff threat from President-Elect Donald Trump will have on local farm exports because details are very scarce.
He said fruit and vegetable growers and greenhouses would be hit the hardest if the tariffs go through.
Snobelen also noted there's no plan yet, such as courting other markets, to try and deal with the potential tariff fallout.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture had a two day conference in Toronto this week and Snobelen said the Trump tariff threat was a topic of discussion, adding he firmly believes the tariffs would be foolish and would hurt both economies.
"The general consensus was it was a bold statement by a president who is not in power yet. At the end of the day there's no details surrounding it so it's hard to know what's going to happen," said Snobelen.
Snobelen said we need strong government leadership in times like this because the quality and convenience of local and Canadian agri-products are unmatched anywhere you look.
"I don't believe they can find the quality anywhere else in the world. We're so convenient for them to trade with. You can put things on a truck and send it over versus having to put things on a ship. It' much easier and it's much faster," Snobelen noted.
Snobelen stated the he'll have more to say when more details are disclosed, but added there's no doubt food prices will go up on both sides of the border if the tariffs become reality.
He believes our border is not the problem Trump is trying to solve.
Ottawa is promising to spend more on border security to ease tensions.
The move followed an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the country's premiers and territorial leaders. That meeting was to address Trump's announcement that Canada and Mexico will face 25 per cent tariffs on their products when he takes power in January until they take sufficient action on illegal migration and drug smuggling.