Varcoe: 'Irrelevant' or a 'knee-knocker' — high stakes for Alberta businesses as free trade review arrives this year |
U.S. President Donald Trump calls it irrelevant, but for Corey Smith, CEO of Alberta-based RAM Elevators and Lifts, the upcoming renegotiation of the free-trade deal in North America is a major deal.
And the past 12 months of trade turmoil have been a “knee-knocker.”
With the existing Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) set for review this year, the chaos surrounding tariffs has business operators across the province trying to prepare for life with — and possibly without — a longer-term trade deal in place that lifts any uncertainty.
Smith, whose company manufactures residential wheelchair lifts, commercial lifts and residential elevators at its Edmonton facilities, recalls last year began with the American administration threatening to impose 25 per cent tariffs on almost all Canadian imports, before Trump provided an exemption for most goods under CUSMA.
Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Noon News Roundup will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.
Even without tariffs hitting RAM’s products, the broader unpredictability led some smaller U.S. dealers that carry its elevators and lifts to become reluctant about selling non-U.S. goods.
“We haven’t given up on the States. Our U.S. business is down about 20 per cent but it hasn’t been obliterated. And we’re trying to pick and choose the markets that are less sensitive to the risk,” Smith said in an interview.
“We’re certainly not wiped off the planet, but in a year where we invested in a new manufacturing plant to grow, particularly betting on the U.S. market, it’s been a bit of a knee-knocker.”
Indeed, the past........