Hello Fenestration Canada Members,
As many of you will already know, a 25% tariff from the US on all Canadian goods was put into place today. We're deeply disappointed to see these tariffs applied as it will mark the beginning of a trade war between Canada and the US. In addition, Canada has put into place a variety of counter tariffs aimed at businesses Canadians have a "Canadian Made" alternative for and will specifically target states and businesses in the US that have republican allies to President Trump. Shipments hitting the border, as of today, March 4th, will be hit with these tariffs.
This is a turning point in an economic story we have all been living uninterrupted. The US dollar was an anchor for the financial system, and Canada, acting as a partner, benefited from a strong integrated economy. There are no illusions that this story will have to change and our industry specifically will have to adapt. For our members, this will be a difficult task, but one I ultimately am confident we will weather, but only with exceptional effort and cooperation.
Over the last three months, we've been watching this story develop and working at understanding the landscape so our team can best support you all during this turbulent time. Admittedly, no action from us will happen fast enough to avoid the significant pain the actions of the US and counter actions of Canada will have on your businesses. We will however act in such a way that the landscape in 1+ years will be influenced by our collective voices and actions.
In the short term, you can expect two things from us. First, we will issue a public letter directed to a variety of politicians, both provincially and federally, clarifying which goods from the US need to be excluded from any potential counter-tariff list, primarily glass. Second, we will provide guidance through a tech talk next week (March 12th) on how to navigate border trade. This will be followed up with a paper shortly after.
Long term, we are growing a list of core initiatives that will be prioritized and shared so that our membership has an understanding of the evolving business landscape and can provide feedback to the process of support.
I will continue my outreach to members in the coming weeks to continue gathering feedback on how Fenestration Canada can best support you. Thank you to all those who have already provided input and I encourage any member to reach out to me directly if you have questions or suggestions.
Thank you,
Adrian Edge
Director - Codes and Regulatory Affairs
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