As the strange and winding road of the U.S. tariffs fiasco continues to keep businesses and industries on their toes, local chambers of commerce are still trying to take action.
Colin Carmichael, the executive director of the Huron Chamber of Commerce, says no matter where the tariff situation is, it's important to support local businesses. He says that includes local owned chain locations of U.S. franchises, which could get lost in the shuffle of the trade war.
"Many of our U.S. corporations operating in Canada through franchises, those franchises are owned by Canadian entrepreneurs, local folks who do a lot of good in the community. So there is a concern that some of those folks will get caught up in an anti-American sentiment," Carmichael stated. "So that's why our message remains to support local, of course we wanna support all our Canadian businesses, but every business operating in Huron County, including those chain franchises, is a Canadian business, in one way or another. So we want to support them and support their employees and the families that depend on them."
No matter where the tariff situation is, Carmichael says it's important and critical to support local businesses. With that in mind, yesterday, the new Huron Economic Response Task Force was established.
"This is being spearheaded by the Huron Chamber of Commerce, South Huron Chamber of Commerce, and Bayfield & Area Chamber of Commerce, with the idea of providing a sort of centralized coordination point for information, resources, news as it breaks, for our business community across Huron County," Carmichael shared.
So far, with the reality of the tariff enforcement in its early days, Carmichael notes that the chamber hasn't heard of any extreme ill effects yet. But, the rumours of the tariffs were around for awhile, which did force businesses locally to hold off on potential planned expenses like upfgrades, or even adding to their workforce.
"Many businesses have a hold on hiring. Maybe they were planning to do some hiring in the first or second quarters of 2025 and they're just holding off to wait and see what happens. So that has a negative impact on the local economy, as well," Carmichael pointed out.
The Huron Chamber of Commerce recently put out a statement calling the tariffs "reckless and harmful to both economies" in the U.S. and Canada.
"Our local economy is deeply tied to cross-border trade, and these tariffs threaten the livelihoods of businesses and workers right here in Huron County," said Carmichael. "Manufacturers, farmers, and agri-businesses throughout our region will feel the immediate effects of these tariffs, and the ripple effect will be significant. We need swift action from all levels of government to mitigate the damage and support our local businesses through this crisis."
For more information or to get involved, visit huronERTF.ca or contact the Huron Chamber of Commerce: info@huronchamber.ca, 519-440-0176.