With U.S. President Donald Trump again threatening to add a 35 per cent tariff to all Canadian products, Premier Scott Moe said on Friday it is something that, “should not have much impact on Saskatchewan.” Trump posted a letter on his Truth Social platform that included the threat of the added sweeping tariff. On Friday, Moe released a statement that called the threat concerning but something that would not impact Saskatoon too much. “Most Saskatchewan products have remained exempt from tariffs under the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement), so if that continues to apply to the latest 35 per cent tariff threat the impact on Saskatchewan should be minimal.” Moe said in the statement. Moe added that all tariff and trade disputes hurt businesses, workers and consumers on both sides of the border, nothing that the threat is still a concerning one. “So we will continue to engage with U.S. officials to encourage free and fair trade with the U.S. while also continuing to expand Saskatchewan’s export markets around the world,” Moe said. According to Moe, Saskatchewan’s current approach to tariffs and the ongoing trade war is working, citing that the province’s economy created more than 20,000 new jobs in the past year, according to Statistics Canada’s latest employment numbers released on Friday. Moe’s statement also said that the White House has confirmed USMCA compliant goods would be exempt from the 35 per cent tariff, adding that about 95 per cent of Saskatchewan’s exports to the U.S. fall in that category. ‘Sask. Party missing in action’The opposition NDP feel differently and stated in a news release Friday that Trump’s latest tariff threat is a direct attack on Saskatchewan jobs. “Despite new tariff threats Scott Moe has yet to stand up to Donald Trump. The current Sask. Party leader reversed his pro-Canada and pro-Saskatchewan procurement policies just days after Trump’s last round of steel and aluminum tariffs,” the NDP’s release said. NDP MLA Aleana Young said Trump is trying to crush Saskatchewan’s economy in an effort to make Canada the 51st state. “It’s reckless and it’s dangerous – and the Sask. Party has nothing to say,” Young said in the release. The NDP is also calling on the province to immediately restore strong pro-Saskatchewan and pro-Canada procurement rules and also take American alcohol products off the shelves once again. Trump’s 35 per cent tariff threat could come into effect as soon as Aug. 1.
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