B.C.’s honey producers are bracing for the sting of new 50 per cent tariffs as more than half of Canadian honey exports go south of the border.
“That means for Canadian beekeepers, they have to lower their price to be able to move it to the U.S.; that’s a disaster, I will tell you. Lots of beekeepers will go bankrupt,” Iman Tabari with BCB Honey Farm said.
The U.S. is threatening tariffs on $28 billion worth of Canadian exports, from dairy to alcohol to plywood and honey.
B.C. has an estimated 13 per cent of the share of those exports, which is more than any other province.
The deadline for those tariffs to be implemented was 9 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday. Around 7:30 p.m. PT, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he has paused the tariffs for three days as the U.S. and Canada have a deal about the Keystone XL Pipeline, subject to finalization of documents.
But that still leaves B.C. businesses on shaky ground.
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“B.C., Quebec and Ontario would be the provinces that would be most damaged by these 338 tariffs, and those, of course, are important provinces both politically and for the entire economic engine of Canada,” Lisa Raitt with the Canada-U.S. Economic Relations Advisory Committee said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, but his office did not disclose any details of those talks.
Global News has learned that sticking points include auto and lumber tariffs.
“Resolving the lumber tariffs will enable prosperity. If we have additional tariffs, it’s going to be very difficult for the Canadian industry and it’s going to add significant costs to U.S. consumers,” Kim Haakstad with the Council of Forest Industries said.
Premier David Eby says businesses hit by new tariffs can turn to a $1.5 billion federal emergency support fund, but with a record deficit, it’s not clear how much more the province can do to help.
“If these tariffs come into effect this evening or tomorrow, we’ll certainly have more to share and we’ll certainly be there to support those forestry businesses and those value-added businesses,” Ravi Parmar, B.C.’s minister of forests, said.
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