N.B. mayor goes to Washington, hears U.S. counterparts share tariff concerns

The mayor of Grand Bay-Westfield flew to Washington on Thursday to meet with municipal leaders from the U.S. and Mexico to talk about the mutual negative impacts of the U.S. trade war.

"There was a real sense of solidarity in the room," said Brittany Merrifield, who also serves as president of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick.

Not knowing what to expect, Merrifield said she felt some apprehension before attending what was described as a friendly meeting of neighbours.

"I knew that some of the mayors were going to be Republican so I didn't know what kind of messaging they were going to come with," she said. 

What transpired was two days of candid accounts from grassroots politicians who said their constituents are already feeling pain from the tariffs and trade uncertainty brought on by the Trump administration. 

Merrifield found it remarkable because she thought the U.S. mayors were risking political reprisals.  

"It was actually quite courageous for them to be there," said Merrifield. "I have huge respect for all of these mayors who came under those conditions to do what they feel is right for the people they serve."

The delegates, including eight from Mexico, as well as Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Rebecca Bligh — a Vancouver city councillor and president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities — presented a united front at a news conference Friday. It opened with remarks from Andrew Ginther, the mayor of Columbus, Ohio, and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

"The story is the same for all of us," said Ginther, after warning that tariffs were expected to add $21,000 US to the median cost of an American home during a housing supply crisis. 

"All of us are mayors, we are closest to the people we represent," he said. "We understand that politics and partisanship go on in … Washington, but we just care about what's best for our residents, our workers, our companies, the consumers in our cities, and we're going to make our voice heard."

Daniel Rickenmann, mayor of Columbia, S.C., said tariffs could have a $3-billion US impact on trade in his state. 

He said about one in five jobs in South Carolina connects to the auto, aerospace and textile sectors, which are heavily dependent on international trade. 

"It supports well north of 10,000 jobs just in our community," said Rickenmann.

He said metal packaging manufacturer Sonoco, based in South Carolina, was already feeling the impact of Trump's executive order to impose tariffs of 25 per cent on Canadian steel and aluminum. 

The decision by some provinces to pull American alcohol from their shelves is also hitting Kentucky distillery employees, he said. 

 "That's causing major layoffs already," he said.  

Anticipation of more tariffs

The mayors were speaking in anticipation of more tariffs to come. 

Late Wednesday, Trump said he'd signed an executive order that will impose a 25 per cent import tariff on vehicles not made in the U.S. Although the full implications of the tariff weren't immediately clear, he said the levy will kick in on April 2.

"I know that President Trump cares about Michigan," said Bryan Barnett, the mayor of Rochester Hills, Mich. 

"I need to relay to the Trump administration how important these decisions are to the auto industry and to the state that supported him."

Andy Schor, mayor of Lansing, Mich., which is home of two General Motors auto assembly plants, said tariffs will hurt the working class. 

"We make on average $48,000 US per year," said Schor. "If cars go up anywhere close to $10,000, you're going to have people that cannot afford to buy cars."

Schor also noted that mayors from both sides of the political divide were united in their concerns. 

"To see a mayor, Bryan Barnett of Michigan, leaning Republican, and Andy Schor of Michigan leaning Democrat … all of us coming together, along with our new friends, I think this is something that people are going to stand up and take notice of," said Schor gesturing first to Barnett, then to himself, then to the other mayors in the room.