Many cross border grain shipments stopped in early January due to tariff threats, and now matters are worse says a prominent Alberta grain expert — no shipments mean no tariffs are being collected.
On Tuesday, the Trump Administration imposed a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods entering the US. A 10% tariff was placed on energy. The tariffs are affecting agriculture — costing companies and end users.
"No party — vendor or customer — at this point is willing to absorb a 25% hit," said Jim Beusekom, president of Market Place Commodities Ltd., in Lethbridge.
"So, that kills the trade right now."
Beusekom's company trades a range of commodities like cereal grains, seed oils, pulse crops, and co-products across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and into the western United States.
"When Canada put countervailing duty, bill tariffs on, it becomes convoluted instantly," said Beusekom.
"When it comes back, it'll be a cost to the Canadian consumer, just like we think the export tariff — so shipping to the United States is a cost to the US consumer, ultimately. So, we would like to see no countervailing duty tariffs. We see no advantage to anybody in Canada."
The trade war affects commodities like grains, pulses, and seed oil. The situation is particularly severe for those close to the US border, with potential long-term impacts on Canadian agriculture.
"We are getting into something that we can't, in my opinion, we are not going to win this," said Beusekom. "We haven't crossed a single truck to and from the United States today."
Beusekom added, "But in the agriculture world that we're in, moving commodities such as wheat, barley, oats, those kind of things that we export to the United States import from the United States, they are all on hold right now. There is no tariff to collect. There's no tariff on either side to collect."
Millions of dollars in business is being lost, said Beusekom.
In 2023, Alberta’s total agri-food exports to the US were valued at $9.3 billion, according to Alberta government figures. Grains and seedoils are a significant portion of this.
