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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
President and CEO of the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce Chuck Davidson<\/p>\n
Chuck Davidson, president and CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, said he was pleased with the Supreme Court\u2019s decision but troubled by Trump\u2019s reaction.<\/p>\n
\u201c(The ruling) basically solidified what we\u2019d been saying for the past year \u2014 that the tariff policy that the U.S. government was going on was unjustified,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cUnfortunately, our concern is (that the ruling) doesn\u2019t actually mean much with the president.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s 10 per cent global tariff was \u201calmost to be expected,\u201d added the leader of Manitoba\u2019s largest chamber network.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very clearly indicated that tariffs are the path that he\u2019s going to go down and (that) it\u2019s going to be difficult to trade with the United States, which is what we\u2019ve seen. And again, the message that we\u2019ve continued to spread is that the United States has become a very unreliable trading partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
A problem with the trading relationship between Canada and the U.S. is that it continually changes, Davidson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was 10 per cent, today it\u2019s 15 per cent,\u201d he said. \u201cWho knows what it\u2019s going to be next week and how long this is going to continue. And it just makes it more challenging for businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said he had mixed reactions to the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt creates a new round of uncertainty and confusion,\u201d he said, alluding to the U.S. president\u2019s response.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe now find ourselves back in those early days of the Trump presidency where you didn\u2019t know which tariffs were going to come into effect, what the rates were going to be. This just creates a new level of complexity (and) uncertainty for businesses trying to navigate an already uncertain world.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, Remillard is pleased that goods compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement will not be subject to Trump\u2019s 10 per cent import duty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat gives us hope that this administration still understands the value and the importance of CUSMA \u2014 primarily to their own economic interest, but as well to the continental economic environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Remillard said he\u2019s spoken with a number of the Winnipeg chamber\u2019s members in recent months who say they\u2019ve settled into a sense that \u201cuncertainty is the new certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not to discount the real, tangible impacts on those sectors that are being specifically targeted, like steel, aluminum (and) automobile manufacturing\u2026 There\u2019s still some very hard and real impacts from the tariffs. However, I think now that we\u2019re a year into it, people have found their way to navigate these waters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Loren Remillard, president and CEO at The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce<\/p>\n The waters have been especially rough for Imperial Steel, a Winnipeg company that manufactures steel tubing, and it looks like they\u2019ll remain rough.<\/p>\n U.S. tariffs targeting Canadian goods such as steel, aluminum, copper, autos and lumber, which are imposed under a separate authority unaffected by the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling, remain active.<\/p>\n Imperial Steel exported 70 per cent of its products to the U.S. in 2024. The company\u2019s sales were down 60 per cent in 2025, said Richard Bobrowski, Imperial Steel owner. He attributes about two-thirds of that decline to Trump\u2019s tariffs.<\/p>\n The company hasn\u2019t laid off staff, but the drop in business has gotten in the way of growth the company was anticipating at the end of 2024.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cWe were looking at buying another building and expanding somewhere in Manitoba just to keep up with orders,\u201d Bobrowski said. \u201cThat\u2019s not only disappeared but swung the other direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Imperial Steel has traditionally done business in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. It\u2019s now looking to other countries to do business, Bobrowski said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re looking into expanding into different markets, trying to follow the trend set by the Canadian government\u2026 But it is not a replacement (for the U.S.). It is just diversification.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 with files from the Canadian Press and the Associated Press<\/p>\n aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Aaron Epp Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. Read more about Aaron<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Aaron produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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