The Windsor-Essex Economic Trade Task Force is busy collecting information from local companies on what they need from government officials to withstand tariffs from the United States.
The task force was established last month with between the Windsor Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce and Invest WindsorEssex to serve as a unified voice for economic development and trade in the region.
"As a task force, what we've been trying to do is collect all of the information we possibly can from our businesses in the community and then share that up the chain of command to make sure that our elected officials are as well prepared as they can to be at the negotiation tables," said Ryan Donally, president and CEO of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Donally said local businesses will start feeling the effects of the tariffs within one to two weeks. When that happens they will need support from all forms of government and local banks.
"Initial conversations will be related to the banking industry, making sure that when and if there are covenants that are broken because the cash flow is not happening that these businesses have supports," said Donally .
The task force met Tuesday when the tariffs first went into effect and will continue to meet on a regular basis.