‘What’s the point?’ Chamber of Commerce’s Machniak talks tariffs

For local retail business owners that purchase product like furniture or appliances – much of which comes from the south – everything has changed.

“Now if people need repair items, they still have to come out of the States,” said Machniak.

While local businesses are left with having to pivot and find alternative sourcing partners, nothing about this situation has shocked the Chamber’s COO.

“I guess what the challenge is I…haven’t yet seen the goal post,” she said. “It seems to be changing. It was the border and fentanyl, and then it’s something else.”

She said the end game question has her perplexed as the tariffs will hurt Americans along with Canadians. Since yesterday’s speech by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in which he said the President Donald Trump’s true goal is to render Canada’s economy to the point where it will be easy to annex the country, United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump may roll back on tariffs later Wednesday.

Machniak said Falk’s point about finding other markets will be important going forward. With America having to approach other markets to get supplies for items including having to source raw material for electronics, it hurts all involved – on both sides of the border.

“If you got away from the stuff that they could buy here and they go to support Japan, Korea, Malaysia, you know, the southeast Asia piece, a lot of those companies are owned by China,” she said.

“It’s their backdoor way to get into this market, into the US, so how is that helping anybody?”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: juleslovett.bsky.social

by Julia Lovett-Squires

‘What’s the point?’ Chamber of Commerce’s Machniak talks tariffs

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