Manitoba to open trade office in Washington

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/12/2024 (367 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — Manitoba is establishing a trade office on Capitol Hill to keep a “permanent presence” in the United States during Donald Trump’s presidency.

Premier Wab Kinew announced the new office in Washington, D.C., during his state of the province address Tuesday. He called it “particularly well timed” considering recent talks between Canada and the U.S. over Trump’s threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods after he is sworn into office in January.

“The tariffs thing? Yeah, we do need to take it serious,” Kinew told hundreds of stakeholders, business leaders and politicians gathered inside the RBC Convention Centre.

“Sitting around the premier’s table, those who are closer to the Trump orbit, if you will, they tell us this is a serious threat, and you have to expect that there will be a move to bring tariffs in … if we don’t respond decisively.”

The new office will open early in the new year, Kinew said. It will bring Manitoba in line with Ontario, Alberta and other provinces that have full-time trade representatives in the U.S. capital.

The announcement comes roughly one week after Trump proposed the new tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico. He accused the two countries of allowing drugs and migrants to cross international borders and said he intends to introduce the tariff upon taking office unless that flow is stopped.

Kinew warned such action would plunge the province into a recession. He and other Canadian premiers held an emergency meeting last week with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss the issue.

The goal of the D.C. office is to bolster relationships with decision-makers and industry leaders in states where Manitoba has strong trade connections, such as Illinois, Minnesota, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas, the province said in a news release.

“We could use the next four years to supercharge a period of economic growth over the medium to long term,” Kinew said. “It’s clear that the critical minerals, and the energy and the (agricultural) products, manufacturing goods that we have are absolutely essential to American economic success, so we are going to be there to try and make that argument.”

Trump’s administration is expected to prioritize having a trade surplus with its international partners, meaning it will likely try to sell more than it buys.

Speaking to reporters after the announcement, Kinew said the province hopes to balance the scales by offering financial incentives — such as promoting the province’s low hydroelectricity rates or offering tax breaks.

The government is also considering ways to improve productivity and expedite the amount of time it takes to get new projects off the ground. Kinew pointed to the mining and energy sectors as examples of areas ripe for development.

“If we can do that more quickly here, that’s going to be a value proposition that is going to be really successful,” he said. “Of course, each project is going to have to succeed on its own merits and have that buy-in from Indigenous nations and on the environmental side.”

The trade office could be staffed by a single diplomat or a small team who will report to the province and have a direct line to the premier and his cabinet.

Kinew could not provide an estimate on what it might cost to establish, but said that information will be provided once the province determines who will lead the office.

He said the right person will be someone who understands the Manitoba economy and provincial values, and can “speak the language” of the Trump administration. Candidates may come from outside of the province.

“We need folks who are, dare I say it, a little ‘Trumpy.’”

Kinew said his party has been “preparing for a Trump presidency since before (they) were sworn into office.”

A business and jobs council created last December previously recommended the province develop a trade office.

The decision to move ahead with the plan was cemented earlier this year when a Manitoba delegation of business, labour and industry representatives travelled to Washington to build trade relationships, Kinew said.

“We saw first-hand the difference it makes to have a physical presence,” said delegate Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. “You can’t expect your friends and allies to always know your position, understand and be receptive if you’re not there physically.”

Remillard said the chamber is backing the move.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham also voiced concern over tariffs and support for the trade office, calling it “welcome news.”

“Anything that would impact businesses in Winnipeg is certainly something I would want to be aware of,” he said.

The Progressive Conservatives pre-empted Kinew’s trade office announcement Monday by unsuccessfully calling for an emergency debate in the legislature to discuss the threat of tariffs.

The official Opposition floated the idea of such an office and argued it should include a bipartisan committee tasked with trade reform and introducing Manitoba-made goods to new markets.

“Wonderful. You heard it here first yesterday,” interim party leader Wayne Ewasko said Tuesday, when asked what he thought of Kinew’s announcement.

Ewasko declined to comment on the fact his party closed trade offices in some countries, including the U.S., when it was in government.

“We are moving forward,” he said.

Canada’s premiers are planning a joint trip to the U.S. capital after Trump takes office to promote Canada’s trade relationship with the U.S., and how citizens on both sides of the border benefit from it, Kinew said previously.

» Winnipeg Free Press, with files from Malak Abas, Carol Sanders and the Canadian Press