Gravelbourg & District Tribune

The colonization of the west saw the development of the prairies and turned the region into what was known as the ‘bread basket’ of Canada. In order to cash in on this new found wealth it meant exporting. There were some blips along the way but generally everything has been running smoothly.

 

Then an orange president showed up.

 

What is a tariff? It’s a tax imposed by a government on imported goods, which is paid by the importing business to the government. Tariffs are used to raise the price of foreign products, encouraging consumers to buy domestic goods instead.

 

President Donald Trump must have discovered that the worlds manufacturing powerhouse is now China. They gained this new title thanks to U.S. and European corporations who were searching for low wage (ei. slave labour) regions of the world to locate their manufacturing in order to maximize profits for shareholders. Short term thinking without looking at the big picture.

 

Instead of attacking Canada and Mexico Trump should be meeting with corporate America and having a frank discussion on why they sold out. Just saying…

 

Where will all this nonsense end? No one seems to know. It is frustrating and director Kevin Antworth of Red Coat Cattle Feeders said in an interview, “business hates uncertainty.” All this spells trouble for Saskatchewan agriculture. Primary producers like farmers and fishers could not do what corporations did by taking advantage of cheap labour in other countries. They aren’t responsible for what happened but now will suffer the most because of corrupt politicians who don’t understand how trade works.

 

Agriculture is our economy. And maybe we made a mistake by putting all our eggs in one basket with over 75 per cent going to the U.S. But that’s capitalism more than anything else. The easy fruit was just a few hours south. Shipping to Europe or other markets is expensive.

 

I give Premier Moe credit for his timing several years ago. His decision to open trade offices in London, United Kingdom; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Mexico City, Mexico; and, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam was, in hindsight, a good idea. We also have offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai and New Delhi.

 

We might have to look at opening more offices.