Municipal officials are bracing for further impact of US-imposed tariffs on Chatham-Kent’s economy.
David Taylor, the Director of Legal Services, is presenting a tariff amendment to the Chatham-Kent Purchasing Bylaw 205-2023 at Monday night’s council meeting.
On March 6, a special council meeting was held to discuss the matter of US and retaliatory tariffs, while providing directions to staff.
Now, the county’s political stance is evolving into a concrete procurement policy and could update Chatham-Kent’s Purchasing Bylaw to limit or exclude US-based suppliers from bidding on municipal contracts, unless they are granted an exception.
If voted through by council at the June 9 meeting, the amendment will add that US companies that bid on contracts above $500,000 and have the lowest bid could see the contract awarded instead to a non-US supplier who is within 20 percent of their offer.
According to the report, this “approach is intended to balance the need to encourage bidding from countries that are following trade agreements with Canada, and from other Provinces, while still allowing for US bids on high-value projects to address the budget risks of excluding all US bids.”
US-based suppliers will no longer be able to bid on contracts under $500,000 unless exempted by the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), on the basis that the US-based supplier is in the best interest of the municipality.
Another exception to the amendment is for emergency, single-source, and sole-source purchases. The report states that “these exemptions are necessary to reflect that in emergency situations, a quick supply of a good or service may be needed, and that under sole source and single source purchases, only one provider may be available.”
The report also outlines how various services in the community are responding to the tariff threats, including:
- Chatham-Kent’s Economic Development and Tourism Services has responded to US tariffs by launching a tariff support webpage and running a #MadeInCK and Shop Local campaign to boost local buying.
- Community Culture and Connections (CCC) by supporting health care talent recruitment and sharing local employment data and resources.
- Employment and Social Services, which has implemented emergency financial assistance and job retraining and placement programs.
