'We will do what we need to do': Kitchener mayor outlines steps to mitigate impact of U.S. tariffs
Mayor heads to Washington while city creates task force, promotes a ‘buy local approach’
Kitchener's mayor says the southern Ontario city has been preparing for U.S. tariffs for the past month, and announced a new task force to help dull the effects of the levies.
Mayor Berry Vrbanovic sent out a release on Wednesday outlining proactive measures that have been put in place as well as announcing a second trip to Washington, D.C. "to fight for Kitchener, for Ontario and for Canada at this critical time."
Waterloo region and the rest of Canada have been sent into a tailspin since 25 per cent tariffs were placed on most Canadian goods at midnight on Tuesday.
"Kitchener is strong, resilient, and innovative. We will do what we need to do to protect our economic interests," Vrbanovic said in the release.
'Buy local approach'
Back at a council meeting on Feb. 10, Kitchener proposed a motion to buy Canadian-made products whenever possible. On Wednesday, Vrbanovic said work is already underway on this initiative and will be "accelerated in the weeks and months to come."
"This includes direction to the mayor, CAO and economic development teams to work in partnership with local business organizations to support our economy and promote a buy local approach," Vrbanovic explained.
As well, a City of Kitchener Tariff and Trade Task Force has been created to assess the impact of the tariffs locally and advocate for trade barriers to be removed between provinces.
Hours after that council meeting in February, Vrbanovic joined Premier Doug Ford down in Washington, D.C., to try to make the case against the tariffs.
Ford, Vrbanovic and other provincial leaders were there as part of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
The mayor plans to head down again this week along with over 20 other Canadian and U.S. mayors as part of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.
'We're in for some choppy waters'
This high-level planning may be cold comfort to businesses dealing with the grim reality of the tax.
Tony LaMantia, president and CEO of the Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation (WREDC), said many businesses in the region are "essentially ready" but warned "we're in for some choppy waters."
"This has been a real wake-up call for businesses and the country to make some changes in terms of how we operate globally," LaMantia told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition host Craig Norris on Wednesday.
"[Businesses should be] diversifying export markets, focusing on things like import substitution and ultimately removing interprovincial trade barriers so that people and goods and services can freely flow across the country," LaMantia said.
He said one out of five jobs, or between 55,000 and 60,000 jobs in Waterloo region, are affected by trade with the U.S., but not every business will be affected in the same way.
Because the threat of tariffs has been around for at least a month, some businesses shipped a month's worth of supply over the border, and in some cases, LaMantia said they've shipped as much as five months worth of goods.
"So they've got time to essentially prepare and react, [they'll] be able to transfer pricing, maybe import substitution options," LaMantia said. Whereas other businesses, particularly those with smaller margins, will be seeing layoffs soon until, he said, "this madness ends."
The WREDC has created three working groups to help local businesses:
- One group for trade-exposed companies, which LaMantia himself is leading.
- A small business working group.
- A tech-sector working group.
"What we're going to be is essentially a point of contact for businesses and governments as they make decisions in the current tariff-threatened business environment, and then we're going to help to disseminate decisions to our business and community stakeholders," LaMantia explained, adding businesses are "ultimately going to have to figure this out on their own, but we're here to provide a helping hand."
LaMantia concluded on a hopeful note, calling Waterloo region businesses "resilient."
"We're blessed with really strong financial services, government administration, advanced manufacturing, tech and so we'll get through this and we'll probably come out stronger for it."
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With files from Kate Bueckert, Lucas Powers