{"id":15377,"date":"2025-02-07T03:20:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T03:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/07\/big-repercussions-big-concerns-b-c-farmers-worry-about-potential-trump-tariffs-bc\/"},"modified":"2025-02-07T03:20:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T03:20:30","slug":"big-repercussions-big-concerns-b-c-farmers-worry-about-potential-trump-tariffs-bc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/07\/big-repercussions-big-concerns-b-c-farmers-worry-about-potential-trump-tariffs-bc\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Big repercussions, big concerns\u2019: B.C. farmers worry about potential Trump tariffs – BC"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Most of the plants grown at Rainbow Greenhouses in Chilliwack<\/a>, B.C., are sold in Canada, but a small portion is exported to the U.S.<\/p>\n

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And if U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s proposed trade tariffs<\/a> are implemented in early March, shipping costs are expected to skyrocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a bunch of shipments leaving last week and we had to say we have to get these out the door really quick because if we get a 25 per cent tariff on what we\u2019re shipping, it basically makes that totally not profitable,\u201d said Rainbow Greenhouses owner and Stan Vander Waal.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only not profitable, but we lose money in a big way.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Although U.S., bound shipments could come with a hefty price tag if Trump\u2019s tariffs go ahead, Vander Waal says they will take a larger hit when it comes to importing products.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy concern is that as Canada, we lever these counter-tariffs now to basically try to resolve the problem. What I feel is, that affects us even more as farmers,\u201d said Vander Waal.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur pots, our plants, our fertilizer, all those kinds of things, those are all input costs. That\u2019s much greater than my export part. For some people, exports are higher, but I think the import side of it, if we put tariffs on all this stuff, we\u2019re going to make the problem much worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The 30-day pause on U.S. tariffs has brought some temporary relief to B.C.\u2019s agriculture sector, but there is still uncertainty about the future.<\/p>\n

Any extra costs could be devasting for some local farmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig repercussions, big concerns. We actually have family businesses very worried about what their future looks like,\u201d said Vander\u00a0Waal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talked to a guy last week. He told me, he says I got to figure out how to keep my business alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

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After several difficult years, the BC Fruit Growers Association (BCFGA) says crops this season are looking better than in prior years.<\/p>\n

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But growers remain \u201cvery cash strapped.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe growers are in very tough financial shape right now. You can take a hit of one year or two years, but it\u2019s been consistent over the last three, four years. The weather has really hit us hard and we\u2019ve had some declines in production,\u201d said BCFGA president Peter Simonsen.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur production insurance doesn\u2019t really work well we\u2019re finding for some of these events. Growers are in a very, very difficult position right at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simonsen says the easiest way for Canadian consumers to avoid paying extra for produce and support farmers is to buy local.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it shouldn\u2019t affect the Canadian prices at all but it obviously, will make the American product more expensive. And so, it is a good, a good way to displace the American product,\u201d said Simonsen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about a tariff on oranges. We don\u2019t grow oranges in Canada, so that\u2019s just going to increase the price of oranges, and to have a tariff on apples and probably other products that are in Canada really just helps the Canadian consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Vander Waal says farmers will need to work closely with the government to find a way to support Canadian agriculture through the trade war.<\/p>\n

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He added that some policies changes surrounding import, and export, could provide some relief for farmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important that as government and farmers that we do have that conversation, we need to sit down and just say why did we get ourselves in this position? And secondly, what can we all do,\u201d said Vander Waal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have great farmers here in British Columbia. We have great farmers in Canada. Solution based, people and farmers are very resilient, but we need the government to back us and change some of the, what I call, distracting policy and regulations that have actually hampered the ability for food processors that actually want to invest in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

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