Canadian Consul General: Trump’s tariffs threaten Pa.’s prosperous trade relations 

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Pennsylvania‘s trade relationship with its neighbor to the north is as deep-rooted as the Canadian Hemlock that serves as the commonwealth’s state tree.  

Consider that Pennsylvania borders Lake Erie to the north, and that Ontario, Canada sits on the opposite side of the lake. Consider, too, that 600 Canadian companies operate in Pennsylvania, creating close to 27,000 jobs for Pennsylvanians. Central Pennsylvania hosts 38 Canadian businesses that provide employment for 1,200 workers. 

“I would characterize it as one of the most balanced, prosperous relationships anywhere in the United States,” Canadian Consul General Tom Clark said during his recent trip to Harrisburg. “Our two-way trade in goods and services is around $30 billion a year. It is absolutely balanced.   

“If anything, maybe Pennsylvania has a slight edge in terms of a trade surplus with Canada. But we are your number one customer by a country mile. We’re bigger than the next four customers put together. We are deeply invested in all parts of Pennsylvania and have been for a very long time.   

“The bottom line is, when Pennsylvania does well, we do well because we’re sort of corporate citizens down here and we’re part of the fabric of the business of Pennsylvania. Our only interest in Pennsylvania is pretty simple. We want it to succeed and grow,” said Clark.   

Pennsylvania’s exports to Canada include products as diverse as av recording equipment, cocoa, chocolate, perfumes, essential oils, and toiletries. Clark noted that it’s not a case of Canada dealing only with Pennsylvania’s major corporations, like The Hershey Company. Small and medium-sized enterprises, also known as SMEs, are also high on Canada’s priority list when it comes to doing business with Pennsylvania.  

“The key is, it’s not just us buying and selling to the big guys in Pennsylvania,” said Clark. “We do a lot of trade with SMEs. So, it’s both on the macro scale, such as iron and steel alloys, all the way down to coca and chocolate.   

“Central Pennsylvania in many respects is the land of SMEs, lifelong family companies, entrepreneurs getting going, and that’s where we’re deeply involved with their world.”   

Clark stated that Hershey’s has expanded in Canada, reopening its plant in what Clark called “a perfect example of how Pa. businesses are thriving in Canada.”   

The Canadian consul general said the thriving business relations long known to Pennsylvania and Canada are now threatened by the Trump Administration’s tariffs. Rep. Nate Davidson (D-Cumberland/Dauphin), appointed recently by Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton to serve on the Canada-United States Relations Committee of the Council of State Governments, called the Trump tariffs “reckless”.   

Clark said the tariffs are “completely unjustified, and have absolutely no basis in reality,” adding that they are going to devastate Pennsylvania small businesses and hurt consumers as well.   

“If you look at it this way, there are already at this moment tariffs on steel and aluminum,” said Clark. “The United States, in general, produces 14% of aluminum it needs, and 60% of aluminum it needs comes from Canada. So, what’s going to happen? Alcoa has already said that aluminum made in Quebec that would normally come down here to the American market to fill the American need, Alcoa’s going to look to sell that to other countries that don’t have tariffs on aluminum.   

“Are we going to see shortages? Possibly. Aluminum is in everything. It’s not as if Alcoa is suddenly going to produce all of the aluminum needs here in the United States. That’s just not going to happen. What it will do is crush small businesses that rely on that as a supply, as a reliable source of aluminum at a reasonable cost. Costs are going to go up.  

“The bottom line on tariffs is that everything is going to cost more. The gas you put in your car, the car itself, is going to cost more,” said Clark.   

The fallout from a tariff war between the U.S. and Canada looks bleak for both sides, said Clark. The only winners, he suggested, could be communist countries.   

“When you drive to work you may find that your work has been closed because it hasn’t survived the tariffs,” he said. “Nobody but nobody wins a tariff war. In this case, the only winners might be China, North Korea, and Russia in this tariff war.   

“Two of the closest friends in this world, one friend attacks the other friend for reasons we can’t fathom and obviously we have to fight back. It’s one place we don’t want to be. We have no interest being in this fight.”   

Clark said Trump’s tariffs are causing Canada to rethink its trade relationship with the U.S.   

“There’s probably only one way to look at tariffs,” said Clark. “We have to look at our trade, we have to diversify our trade. Is the United States a reliable partner for trade anymore? We’re not sure.   

“To be sure to give our people and our companies the greatest security we can, we’ve got to explore other alliances, other trading options, to diversify as much as we can so that we’re not as reliant on trade with the United States.   

“This has deeply wounded my country. Canadians are feeling betrayed, they’re feeling angry, very angry, and this is understandable, it’s organic, but it’s ultimately not good for the relationship as we’ve had it for so many years, particularly between Pennsylvania and Canada.”   

Clark stated that he takes heart in Canada’s trade relationship with Gov. Josh Shapiro. 

“Governor Shapiro, in our view, has really stepped up in this current campaign,” said Clark. “He’s spoken to a number of our premiers; he’s been very open to discussions with our officials. He gave what I thought was a wonderful defense of the Canada-US relationship, the Canada-Pennsylvania relationship when he talked about tariffs and the damage that tariffs do.   

“We consider Governor Shapiro to be a great friend of Canada and admire him greatly. He and our former prime minister, Justin Trudeau, met in Philly not too long ago. We now have a new prime minister, Mark Carney, and we’ll soon be in an election campaign where we’ll see who the prime minister will be after that.   

“In all of this, one constant for us, I don’t think Governor Shapiro will be considered anything other than a great friend no matter who’s in power.”   

Clark said he reminds his countrymen that it’s not the American people they should be angry with. 

“On tariffs and the mood of the country, I’ve never seen Canada like this before in my lifetime,” said Clark. “We are going through something quite historic in our country right now. What I tell Canadians at every turn is that you have to remember that the vast majority of Americans are our friends and our allies.   

“We can take our anger out at the (Trump) administration, and the imposition of tariffs, wholly unjustified, on Canada. We can be angry at this constant talk of annexing Canada, destroying Canada as a country, but I say let’s make sure we are aiming our anger at the right people, not at the American people.   

“We’ve got too much history, we’ve got too much familiar connections, to let this destroy what we’ve built up for over 200 years. I remind Canadians of that at every opportunity I get. We have to understand who we are opposing.” 

Clark and a delegation of Canadian representatives was welcomed to the Pennsylvania state Capitol by Davidson.   

“It is a great honor and responsibility to be appointed to serve on the Canada-United States Relations Committee, especially at a time when our relationship is being tested by the reckless tariffs imposed by our federal government in Washington,” Davidson said in a statement. “In spite of the harm that will be inflicted on American consumers by those actions, I am eager to work with colleagues from across the nation to reinforce our bilateral relationship with Canada.  

“As Consul General Clark reminded us, our ‘bond is built on friendship, trust and shared values,’ and we must be steadfast in our pledge to our Canadian neighbors that they will always have a friend in Pennsylvania.”  

Davidson emphasized that the U.S. and Canada share one of the world’s most prosperous trade relationships, and that because the economies of the two countries are deeply intertwined, “tens of thousands of Pennsylvania families and hundreds of Pennsylvania businesses who depend on this relationship are looking to leaders in Harrisburg to protect our shared interests.”