By james art 
St. Albans – Poulin Grain, a producer of animal feed with two plants in the North Vermont, relies on crops imported from Canada, such as corn and oats, to make their products. But the cost of the company will increase significantly – and perhaps, unstable – if President Donald Trump has proposed a 25% tariff for Canada products, Poulin’s senior Vice President Mike Tetro said on Monday.
The company could start delivering some raw materials to the country, Tetreault said, but the materials will cost more and these costs will be transferred to customers.
“We have no margins to compensate for this. Sellers do not have margins to compensate for this. So, in essence, the farms and consumers of our cereals and food will pay more, “Tetreault said, talking at a round table on Trump’s proposal in St. Monday morning, convened by US Senator Peter Welch, D-VT.
“There is no other option,” he added.
Tetreauult was one of several business leaders in Vermont, along with representatives of trade groups, as well as civil servants who expressed concerns about Welch about the impact that tariffs could have on the cost of local goods and services.
Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tax on goods coming to the United States from Canada and Mexico as early as February 1st. Currently, both countries have a free trade agreement with the US, with which most goods trade among the three countries Don has no rates.
The president told reporters last week that his proposal was a response to Canada and Mexico, allowing “the mass number of people to enter and enter fentanyl.” Although it is not clear exactly how tariffs will be met, experts usually agree that they could violate many US industries and increase the prices of many goods for consumers.
“The size of the interference that will happen through each of your businesses is huge,” Welch told the panel, which also includes a manufacturer of contracts at Morrisville and a manufacturer of maple sugar equipment in Swanton.
Rock Gaulin, which runs the Maple department for H2O Innovation, said tariffs can protect US-based operations in the short term, but will eventually lead to higher prices for sugarmikers who buy their evaporators and other equipment.
Welch said he was committed to doing a case against Trump’s proposed rates in Washington in the coming weeks, including during hearing, he expects the Senate Financing Committee he sits on.
Several speakers have said Vermont may feel a disproportionate impact on the proposed tariffs, as Canada is far from the largest international trading partner in the country. Like Poulin Grain, many Vermont companies are “so strongly relying” on cross -border imports of raw materials, said Amy Schedar, President of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.
The tariffs targeting Canada can also raise Vemronters energy bills, Welch noted, indicating how the state receives about a quarter of its electricity from Canada’s hydro-beetle.
Marie McClur, President and CEO of Green Mountain Power – Vermont’s most large electricity company – estimated that the Trump Tarifa for Canada goods can lead to an additional $ 16 million additional cost for electricity, which she said would He went with a limited exception, would go “directly to the taxes paid.”
However, McClore and other speakers noted that it is impossible to say for sure what the impact would be, because the details of Trump’s proposals are not clear – it is nor clear that the tariffs will even come into force on February 1.
This made it difficult for businesses to prepare in recent weeks, some said. Sarah Mirhof, Director of Advocacy and Communications of the Commercial Association, representing Vermont’s construction industry, pointed out how some contractors can, for example, spend money now to store timber – just to understand that it is unnecessary.
“At one point, they thought they would have tariffs on the first day – and now it says that February 1 said,” said state -owned cashier Mike Pisak, citing Trump’s first day. “I think there is a question about business, will they ever come? Is this real – or is it not real? ”
Discovery: Sarah Mirhof reports VTDigger from October 2021 to December 2024.