REGINA, Sask. — United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer freezes trade negotiations, stating Washington feels no urgent need to secure a new deal. We break down the scramble ahead of tomorrow's American import bans, look at the push for European liquefied natural gas exports, and hear how the dispute has completely zeroed out American exports for Supreme Steel.
Podcasts are available now on GX94, Yorkton, or on 620 CKRM, Regina, hosted by Steven Wilson. Or read the transcript below:
Steven Wilson — Welcome to Trade Dispute: Impact on the Prairies, I'm Steven Wilson. The United States is signaling it has no intention of ending the ongoing trade war anytime soon. United States Trade Representative Jameson Greer says there is no urgent need to secure a new trade deal with Canada.
Speaking outside the White House, Greer stated the Trump administration is comfortable with where the relationship currently stands, effectively freezing negotiations. The prolonged standoff has Canadian businesses on edge as a major deadline arrives tomorrow. Tuesday marks the beginning of outright United States import bans on Canadian alcohol, dairy products, plywood, hockey equipment, and perfumes.
The sudden border friction has Ottawa-area distilleries and manufacturers confirming they are abandoning the American market entirely to focus on European exports. The shifting trade routes align with recent comments from Germany. A German minister stated over the weekend that European supply chains are under threat and explicitly signalled that Germany wants to dramatically increase its intake of Canadian liquefied natural gas.
While the federal government looks overseas, local manufacturers are dealing with immediate fallout. David Fritz is the president of Supreme Steel. He says the loss of their traditional southern customer base has completely altered the company's export reality.
David Fritz — In the past, Supreme had done, you know, maybe around 25 per cent of our revenue was with U.S. clients. That's completely evaporated. And even if you go back a few years ago, Supreme lost a major contract, essentially with a Trump tweet that announced tariffs were coming.
And, you know, our clients south of the border became, like, so uncertain about the cost of their project that they were forced to go with a U.S. firm instead of Supreme and ultimately cancel our contracts.
Steven Wilson — Fritz says the border closures are not just killing exports, they are driving up prices and causing massive delays across the construction sector. Because traditional American steel is now heavily tariffed, companies are forced to buy materials from Europe or Asia, which significantly extends project schedules.
David Fritz — So there's definitely been cost increases since the tariffs were implemented. And what the biggest impact now, though, is that most of the steel that was traditionally bought in the U.S. is now being bought overseas in Europe or Asia. And so the lead time to get those materials is so much longer.
So we'll see projects having to wait, you know, three, four months before they can get their raw structural steel materials. And then we need time to fabricate it. So one of the biggest impacts has actually been schedule.
Steven Wilson — Fritz adds that because the tariffs hit Eastern Canadian fabricators harder, companies from Ontario and Quebec are now aggressively bidding on Western projects. He says the most important thing Prairie governments can do right now is ensure local projects are built by local companies to keep the economic stimulus at home. To help cross-border companies manage these severe operational costs, the Future Borders Coalition convened a major virtual session this morning to unpack policy changes and real-time business impacts.
Subnational leaders are also stepping in to tackle the uncertainty. Agricultural officials from Canada, the United States and Mexico are gathering in Calgary today for the 2026 Trinational Agricultural Accord. The agenda is heavily focused on navigating the instability of the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement.
Also in Calgary, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford are set to share the stage this morning to discuss collaborative energy policy and supply chain resilience. The push for domestic unity comes as Alberta beef producers confirm federal and provincial consultations on removing interprovincial trade barriers have officially closed, moving the critical defense mechanism into the regulatory phase. Governments are also acting to shield consumers from compounding costs.
Prince Edward Island officially joined Alberta over the weekend in implementing a provincial fuel tax break to offset the inflationary impact of the trade war. While there have been calls in Saskatchewan for the government to do the same, there have been no plans to reduce the fuel tax, which is currently the third-highest provincial levy. South of the border, agricultural markets are reflecting the instability.
In Montana, localized grain bids are sliding lower as the broader North American grain handling network faces disruption. In North Dakota, rapidly shifting trade dynamics have caused early-year tariff rate quota allocations for certain cross-border food ingredients to be exhausted much faster than normal. With cross-border manufacturing capital frozen, both border states are shifting their focus to domestic infrastructure investment, including major power grid and data center expansions.
We will continue to follow the local and global fallout as the American import bans take effect tomorrow. I'm Steven Wilson. Thank you for listening to Trade Dispute: Impact on the Prairies.
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