Saskatchewan’s Premier recently got back from trips to Washington D.C. and to Mexico where he was advocating for no tariffs in the U.S. and continued trade with Mexico and looking ahead to the re-negotiation of the U.S. – Mexico – Canada Trade Agreement. Scott Moe says although the Saskatchewan team didn’t speak directly with U.S. President Donald Trump, they were heard by people who have his ear and have been working with him a long time. He feels the discussions were effective, but he realizes one trip is not enough when advocating for tariffs that could come into effect next Month.
That’s why he will be going back. He says, “Despite the uh…stretching of, you know, certain facts that may be coming to light from time to time, the fact does remain that we have to deal with this Administration. They have been duly elected. The fact remains that America is our largest trading partner and will be, regardless of who the President is.”
Moe points out that in the last two years, Saskatchewan has exported over $49-billion worth of product and over half of that, at about 55 per cent, heads to the U.S. He reiterates that the reality is, Trump is the President of the United States and we have to deal with him because the U.S. is Canada’s and Saskatchewan’s largest trading partner.
The next step is continued engagement, so the Premier says he will be returning sooner rather than later to engage with additional members of President Trump’s appointees and with members of the Senate and the House. That’s why the spring session of the Legislature doesn’t begin until March 19th, because the discussions with the U.S. will continue. Then on the first day of the session, the budget will be delivered, after Trump’s tariff deadline of March 4th.
The Premier added that trade between the two countries is complicated, giving the example of the steel industry, which includes Evraz, a Saskatchewan producer of engineered steel. Moe explains that the steel goes back and forth across the border four or five times from the beginning to the end of its cycle.