{"id":16647,"date":"2025-02-16T16:34:54","date_gmt":"2025-02-16T16:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/16\/near-catastrophic-how-windsors-mayor-says-tariffs-could-hit-national\/"},"modified":"2025-02-16T16:34:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T16:34:54","slug":"near-catastrophic-how-windsors-mayor-says-tariffs-could-hit-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/16\/near-catastrophic-how-windsors-mayor-says-tariffs-could-hit-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Near \u2018catastrophic\u2019: How Windsor\u2019s mayor says tariffs could hit – National"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The mayor of the border city<\/a> of Windsor<\/a>, Ont., says the potential for steep U.S. tariffs<\/a> on Canadian goods could have a near \u201ccatastrophic\u201d impact on the economy and jobs.<\/p>\n

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Mayor Drew Dilkens told\u00a0The West Block\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Mercedes Stephenson that such tariffs, which U.S. President Donald Trump has delayed until March, would impact many sectors important to his city, including automotive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on the precipice of being catastrophic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty-five per cent for us would certainly mean that the price of vehicles would go up. People would simply defer spending 25 per cent more for the price of a vehicle waiting for some more certainty. It may make imports more attractive, quite frankly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to explain that shift away from Canadian products, and people waiting for more certainty, would then cascade through the supply chain starting with auto manufacturers who would adjust their inventory due to reduced sales, and result in layoffs in automotive factors.<\/p>\n

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Then, the auto parts sector would need fewer people to make less parts for fewer cars, leading to more job cuts.<\/p>\n

It would even trickle down, Dilkens said, to a worker at Tim Hortons being laid off as people put away money for \u201cweathering the storm,\u201d and cut down on spending.<\/p>\n

Dilkens said the changes to the supply chain would happen quickly, suggesting Canadians would see impacts in the span of weeks rather than months.<\/p>\n

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Trump has threatened across-the-board tariffs of 25 per cent on Canadian goods and 10 per cent on energy exports to the U.S., set to start early next month.<\/p>\n

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Canada is also facing 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports<\/a> set to come into place on March 12, which would impact cities like Windsor and other cities whose central industry is in steel or aluminum, such as Hamilton, Ont. or Sept-Iles, Que.<\/p>\n

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But Trump has also threatened a tariff of up to 100 per cent on Canadian cars, and industry voices in Canada warned that such a tax<\/a> could lead to a shutdown of the entire North American auto industry.<\/p>\n

Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers\u2019 Association, told Global News earlier this week that \u201chundreds of suppliers and dozens of automakers\u201d said in meetings they would refuse to pay Trump\u2019s surtax, which would bring the industry to a grinding halt.<\/p>\n

With the supply chain so integrated, Volpe added just one supplier backing out would have immediate impacts.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that integration that Dilkens notes would cause such an impact. Parts that go into a vehicle cross the border an average of six or seven times before the car or truck rolls off the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have this tightly-integrated economy that any threat that disrupts it with the effect of tariffs will have a negative impact on my city and our country for sure, but will have an equally impactful result to workers and residents across the other side of the border too,\u201d Dilkens said.<\/p>\n