“How do you even think about where the ball’s going to go next? He is constantly trying to mix up the game plan and we don’t know how to respond.”
That’s the response from Deborah Yedlin, CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, to President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement.
On Monday afternoon, Trump signed an executive order, implementing a 25 per cent tariff on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum, of which Canada is a major supplier.
President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., on February 9, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Ben Curtis.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Ben Curtis
In 2024, Alberta’s Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Trade estimates the province exported $815 million worth of steel products and $239 million worth of aluminum products to the U.S..
While American manufacturers will be forced to pay the tariffs on the raw materials, Alberta’s business community warned it is consumers on both sides of the border who will ultimately pay more.
The President of Rangeland RV in Calgary, said consumers on both sides of the border will ultimately end up paying for President Donald Trumps tariffs on American imports of Canadian steel and aluminum.
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“How it affect us here is purchasing all of our products out of the United States,” said Dania Filippetto, President of Rangeland RV in Calgary during an interview with Global News. “This recent tariff being announced is really going to affect the cost of RVs.”
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Filippetto estimates that 95 per cent of RVs sold in Canada are manufactured in the U.S..
“We’ll take a significant price increase from the tariffs of steel and aluminum,” added Filippetto. “That combined on top of the exchange rate for our dollar that is not very favourable — the cost of RVs are going to increase for sure.”
The President of Rangeland RV in Calgary said the new tariffs on U.S. imports of Canadian steel and aluminum, combined with declining value of the Canadian dollar, means purchasing an RV will be more expensive.
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President Trump imposed similar tariffs during his first term in office.
They were eventually removed after the trade agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico (CUSMA) was signed, but by then much of the damage had been done.
“We know that this has happened before and the tariffs will obviously increase the cost of what we sell into the United States,” said Yedlin.
“So those small- and medium-sized manufacturers are going to have to look for other markets. It’s their cost of inputs are going to go up. And it’s not going to be very helpful.”
While the long-term impact of the tariffs will mean higher prices, Filippetto is hopeful there will be a positive impact in the short term.
“I think what was positive is a lot of consumers that maybe were waiting to buy an RV up until the snow melts or spring comes, they’re a little bit quicker to want to purchase something right now that’s on the ground because it is going to be more affordable no matter what,” said Filippetto.