While U.S.-imposed tariffs have once again been put on pause, any tariffs on livestock could actually drive prices down in Canada, according to a local leader in the agriculture industry.
Louis Roesch, a member of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture board of directors representing farmers in Essex and Kent counties, said he predicts that the cost of beef and pork will fall in Canada if tariffs are implemented, but there will be an increase for customers in the U.S.
“Some of the places over there, Washington State in particular, about 70 per cent of their beef kill is from Canada. So they’re screaming for beef and there’s no place to get it,” he said.
Roesch said the Ontario livestock industry is incredibly intertwined with the United States.
“Pretty much for 30 per cent of cattle and beef, we do not have the kill space here in Ontario, so it has to go across the border, and then some of it comes back,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump moved forward with 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods on March 4 but backpedaled two days later, placing a month-long pause on the levy.
