U.S. tariffs loom over new session of B.C. legislature starting Tuesday

By Wolf Depner
Victoria News
February 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The first session of B.C.’s 43rd Parliament opens Feb. 18, with traditional rituals like the Speech from the Throne.  …This threat [of US tariffs] has since become much more real. Double-digit tariffs from the United States on key exports such as energy, minerals and lumber now loom over B.C. with some potentially reaching or exceeding 50 per cent in the case of aluminum and lumber. “The lumber industry, in particular, is vulnerable,” Werner Antweiler, Chair in International Trade Policy, at UBC’s Sauder School of Business said. “They are not very profitable at the moment and any further setback in terms of accessing the U.S. market will really hit hard. So I’m really worried about jobs in the lumber industry.” …But the threat of tariffs could also spur developments that government has previously neglected. They include efforts to finally break down barriers between provinces.

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