Trump Tariff Threat: Canada vows 'strong, national response'
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Canada's outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed a "strong, national response," should incoming U.S. President Donald Trump make good on threats to impose a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian goods. Trudeau held a meeting on Wednesday with Canada's Provincial leaders, to discuss possible retaliatory measures. One of the key Canadian industries that would feel the impact of stiff tariffs is Canada's energy sector. As CGTN's Dan Williams now reports.

Some 80 kilometers from Calgary in the Canadian Province of Alberta, is Diamond Valley and the location of a significant historical landmark. It is here in 1914, where a wet natural gas sprayed out of a well bore, becoming the birthplace of Alberta's petrochemical industry. All across this region are signs of the energy industry. But energy companies here now face a new potential challenge. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened a 25 percent tariff on all imports from Canada and that could include the gas and oil products.

GRANT STREM Energy Policy Advisor "Canada makes approximately four and a half million barrels a day of oil, almost all of it going to the United States as an export product. So with that backdrop, 25 percent tariff on $140 billion is roughly $35 billion a year, and that is something that will have a major local Canadian economic impact."

One of the reasons Trump has said he's imposing tariffs is because, he says, Canada is not doing enough to secure their border. There are signs that some companies are already cutting back in preparation for potential tariffs. Jeff LaFrenz is the CEO and co-founder of Calgary-based company VizworX, a custom software development company. He has clients within the energy industry.

JEFF LAFRENZ Founder & CEO VizworX "We're looking at this from the perspective of, okay, maybe the U.S. stuff gets put off now, and maybe we go after these other ones, which we seem to have more traction and more trust that we can actually move forward on that. And so ultimately, when those questions are raised, you're going to start looking for places where there's less risk. And right now, the U.S. is becoming more risk at this point."

The impact of tariffs would not be restricted to Canada. The U.S. economy could feel the effects, too. U.S. refineries, especially those in the Midwest take nearly all of Canada's crude oil exports.

PATRICK DE HAAN Head of Petroleum Analysis GasBuddy "A 25 percent tariff is essentially a 25 percent tax that would be remitted to the U.S. government, essentially driving up the cost of doing, of refining in these areas, and that would likely be passed on to consumers. So this potential tariff could upset in a significant way the U.S. and Canadian economies."

DAN WILLIAMS Diamond Valley, Canada "There's little doubt that U.S. tariffs on Canadian products would add significant headwinds to Canada's energy industry. But some here also see a potential for opportunity."

And that may mean looking at other markets.

JEFF LAFRENZ Founder & CEO VizworX "These kind of events force us to look to other places and find opportunities we may not have really considered before, but actually might even be better in many cases."

For now, the tariff threat could be little more than a lot of hot air. But industry heads on both sides of the border are also preparing for a worst case scenario. Dan Williams, CGTN, Diamond Valley, Canada.