B.C. premier says U.S. tariffs could hit harder than 2008 recession

B.C. premier says U.S.  tariffs could hit harder than 2008 recession,  calls for pandemic-style  relief.Not a valid attachment ID.
U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening  to impose a  25% tariff on all Canadian imports starting Feb.  1.
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British Columbia Premier David Eby speaks to reporters about  potential retaliatory tariffs against the  United States during a news  conference Tuesday.
Premier David Eby says protecting British Columbians from the potential impact of U.S. tariffs will be taken as seriously as  responding to the COVID-19  pandemic.
He said any decisions his  ministers make, including plans for next  month's budget, will be made  in the  context of a  "potentially protracted trade  war."
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose  25% tariffs on Canadian goods starting  February 1, and his press secretary,  Caroline Leavitt, told reporters at the White House on Tuesday  that the plan was "still on the  table" for that  day. Eby said a relief  plan could include pandemic-style  "employment insurance," as well as grants and loans to  help businesses  weather the impact of tariffs  in B.C., which could be  worse than the 2008  recession.
"I think  there's still time for President Trump to work with us because  there's a strong desire on the part of premiers and the federal government to address the concerns  raised by the  president," he told  reporters.
"This is not a  war we asked for. We  don't want it, we  don't need it, but we are  prepared to  enforce these  standards proportionately and as  necessary. We are prepared to fight for our  country."
Eby said every decision his ministers  make, including plans for next  month's budget, is made  against the  backdrop of a  "potentially protracted trade  war."
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Trump's threatened tariffs could have  a $69 billion impact on  B.C.'s economy by 2028, province  says
The British Columbia government  has previously estimated that the tariffs could  cost the province about $69 billion by 2028, the entire  duration of  the Trump  presidency. According to provincial figures, 54% of  British Columbia's exports go to the  United States, making it British  Columbia's largest trading partner. About  14% of  British Columbia's exports go to China,  11% to  Japan and  10% to other  Asian countries.
The tariffs are also projected  to result in  the loss of 124,000 jobs in  British Columbia over the next three years,  pushing the unemployment rate to  6.7% in  2025 and  7.1% next year.
Michael Goehring, president and CEO of the  British Columbia Mining  Association, says  Trump's threatened  25% tariffs could trigger a recession. He  told BC Today host Michelle Eliot  that government leaders  should emphasize the importance of  B.C.'s supply of  critical minerals to the  United States in their negotiations with the Trump administration.  2:04
According to the province's annual financial and economic reports, the global financial crisis  of 2008 caused British Columbia's economy  to shrink from  3 per cent growth in 2007 to a 2.3 per cent contraction in  2009.
This was the first contraction in GDP since 1982, with 54,900 jobs lost from 2008 to  2009, while unemployment  rose to 7.6 per cent and retail sales  plummeted.
Eby says  any harm  done to British Columbians  must be  "made good" by a response  from the United  States.
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He says he would support  imposing equivalent tariffs on U.S.  products and that any funds  raised should be  "distributed immediately" to help  companies survive and diversify their markets beyond the  U.S.
Eby says the province  is hoping for the best and  preparing for the worst as it waits to see exactly what  shape the U.S. tariffs will  take. "We have to make sure we have the resources to support people,  regardless of the  consequences," he  said.
"It's always  possible that we  won't see  these kinds of impacts,  that we  won't see the  rates or  that they will be different than  what has been announced." You never  know.

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