The Canadian Cattle Association has been looking for ways to keep Canadian beef producers going strong even as the U.S. is threatening a 25 per cent blanket tariff on the country.
That work has included speaking with American representatives and charting a course through new trade realities.
Nathan Phinney, the President of the CCA, says that having the time to discuss the tariff is one small positive in the situation.
"We were glad to see we missed the promised date of the first-day inauguration. So we did take a sigh of relief and then the executive order was signed saying that potentially they could come in February 1st and then there is also a team dedicated on his staff to study what the imbalance may look like and have that report by April first, so again, like before, nothing has happened, there's a lot of conversation, but there hasn't been any movement on it. So you know it's business as usual."
While for now business is still going Phinney says those tariffs would have a big impact on trade with the US.
"Any tariff of any rate is a step in the wrong direction. It's gonna of have a negative impact on the Canadian industry, it'll have a negative impact on the US consumer side. One thing we want to continue to highlight to all political figures and producers on both sides that it's actually the integration and the free movement of live cattle and beef products back and forth is why both industries on both sides of the border have had had great success over the past few years."
Phinney says that a number of Canadian agriculture groups are on the road now, including the CCA, making their case for free trade.
"Part of our team's in Washington right now, another team was in San Antonio, I'm going myself next week down to the (National Cattleman's Beef Association) and well, industries understand that these are not a good idea for either country to impose. We're a net importer of US feeder cattle right now, and there's a lot of critical infrastructure, whether it be feed or processing, that's located on each side of the border and it's necessary to have that tariff-free movement back and forth to fully utilize the capacity and the space, especially in very tight supply cattle markets."
If those tariffs do hit Canada and stick around Phinney says they'll explore other options while still serving the US.
"We will continue to serve the US as well. I mean, we're not shut out of it. We're just gonna be here with our tariff rate. We're gonna explore every option that we have and what makes the most sense and helps the Canadian beef industry continue to move forward and well into the future."
Phinney says that even though nothing has happened so far, producers still need to be prepared for what's to come.
"We have to take it seriously. We have to be ready in case they do happen, but there are a lot of cooler heads down there and a lot of people, and I think common sense is going to prevail in this conversation. It's a negotiating tactic and we're continuing as hard as we can. That's our number one file at CCA to ensure that beef is left out of any tariff conversations and that's what we're going to continue to focus on.
The CCA has been putting in plenty of work reaching out to our southern neighbours with Phinney thanking his team for all of the effort they've put in.