Aaron Birch, a co-owner of a cattle ranch near Chaplin, says he doesn’t believe the U.S. will follow through on its threat of trade tariffs “because it will hurt trade so much between the two countries.”
“I think it’s more of a political tactic for the U.S. government to get their way on a few things,” says Birch, who co-owns and operates Twin View Livestock, located about 150 kilometers west of Regina.
Ranching is a business full of uncertainty. Mother nature and markets are unpredictable. The tariffs proposed on both sides of the border only add to that uncertainty.
Tariffs could drive up import costs for vital agricultural products that are required to raise cattle. Birch says his current greatest challenge as a rancher is input costs.
“Whether it’s transporting cattle or buying supplies, prices keep climbing. That creates a lot of challenges. Even though cattle markets are really high right now, which is great! But on the flip side when you go to purchase anything small, or big stuff like machinery, the prices have gone through the roof.”
He added: “That is the challenge with these tariffs as well. It could very well have an effect on our ability to export cattle. If our inputs keep going up and tariffs put a damper on our income, that would be big challenge.”
Twin View Livestock sends between 6-10 breeding stock a year directly to the U.S. Along with direct sales, the Canadian cattle market would be heavily disrupted. Canada sends 75 per cent of its cattle exports to the U.S., most of which are shipped to processing plants in border states. The resulting beef products are then sent north to be sold in Canadian grocery stores.
Pete Charriere raises cattle near Pomeroy Washington, roughly a 2 hour drive south of Spokane. He says the tariffs are an “unqualified and really stupid idea.”
“I see no positives coming out of it. Especially with two of our biggest trade partners, there is no winner in my opinion.”
Charriere went on to say: “It’s potentially going to be felt more on your side of the border, but I think it’s probably going to affect the live cattle trade. The U.S. sends a lot of feeder cattle up north to Canada, because you have lots of commodities available to feed them and get them fat. Then you send them back to the U.S. to be processed. So I think it will slow that flow of cattle.”
Some 86 per cent of U.S. live cattle exports are sent to Canada, with the remaining 14 per cent going to Mexico. The Canada-U.S. cattle trade is the largest two way exchange of live cattle in the world. With such an interconnected system, the effects of future tariffs remain a threat to cattle producers on both sides of the border.
