After President Donald Trump’s most recent round of tariffs on Minnesota’s neighbors to the north, confusion remains for Canadian business owners.
“There's a whole bunch of things changing, and it makes it really hard for businesses to even know what they should do,” Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce President Charla Robinson said.
Thunder Bay sits about 40 miles north of the eastern Minnesota border that primarily exports grain. However, the Port of Thunder Bay is a hub for European and Western Canadian trade.
The recent tariff hikes raise the toll from 25 percent to 35 percent for goods not under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Most goods exchanged over the northern border fall under this agreement, but things like steel and aluminum have been hit the hardest.
“We're just starting to get some of the numbers that are showing, perhaps GDP is slowing down — perhaps consumers are starting to spend a little less on both sides of the border,” Robinson said.
When President Donald Trump originally imposed tit-for-tat tariffs in March, concerns over job losses were top of mind in Thunder Bay, but Robinson said it’s still too early to see the fallout for most industries. The auto industry in particular has been hit the hardest.
“We hope that we can come to a fair deal that works for both Canadians and Americans,” Robinson said. “Minnesotans are our friends and family, and we hope that this trade war isn't a personal relationship impact.”
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