When
I wrote my first Stand up for Canada blog in January 2017 (http://standupforcanada.rochow.info/2017/01/fighting-fire-with-fire.html), which called for a potential boycott of US products
and services, I expected the worst under the leadership of the then new
President of the USA. Unfortunately, the worst seems to be happening now.
The
tariffs imposed by the USA on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and other countries,
and those threatened in retaliation on selected US products that will be
imported to Canada, are most regrettable, since free trade is known to benefit
all trading partners.
If
these US tariffs should not be withdrawn, the consequential punitive Canadian tariffs on US
products may have a surprisingly beneficial effect for Canada by increasing the
prices of US products and services to the point where Canadian consumers are
motivated to changing their traditional buying habits by switching to suppliers
from other countries. Such consumer action may also help Canada to diversify
its global trade pattern by diminishing its predominant relationship with the USA
(now about 75%) and by expanding its trade with Europe, Asia and other
countries. Nevertheless, to ensure that to happen, Canadian consumers must become
proactive and deliberately avoid American products, to the extent possible, for
as long as the unjustified US tariffs and the broader American protectionist
practices persist.
There are signs that Canadian consumers are already taking
the necessary steps to avoid US products when suitable alternatives are
available. This is evident in two articles by MacLean’s:
In
that context, it is also noteworthy that a restaurant in Buckingham (Quebec) has
announced that it ceases to offer California wines and ensures that its kitchen
avoids the purchase of products originating in the USA, whenever possible (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/lala-bistro-gatineau-ottawa-tariffs-trump-trudeau-insults-1.4704845).
Ever
since January 2017, and pending the approval of a fair renewed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),
we have subjected our family purchases to country of origin tests, avoiding US
products when suitable alternatives exist. For instance, we had to purchase
three major appliances costing approximately $4,750. When searching for these,
we instructed the sales clerk to show us the best options among those products that
had not been manufactured in the US. That resulted in our
purchase of two appliances that had been manufactured in South Korea and
Mexico, accounting for about 82% of the total purchase price. For the residual smaller
appliance (18% of the total cost) we only had a US option.
In
the area of groceries, we sent the following message to the grocery chain where
we normally shop: “On our last visit … we could only find Smuckers
and Hershey brands of chocolate toppings. We left them on the shelf since both
were imported from the US. Are similar products available from Canadian or
European sources? We have black-listed all non-essential products originating
in the US until a fair NAFTA decision has been reached. On a related note we
were pleased to find Del Monte canned fruit that originated in South Africa and
Greece. We left a tin on the shelf containing another fruit mix by that firm because
that also originated in the US.”
While
we sincerely hope that the NAFTA trading partners will achieve a sensible new
agreement that is fair to all member states, effective consumer boycott of selected
US products and services must happen now to send a powerful message to the
US negotiators on the NAFTA team. Can we count on you to participate? If so,
please shop by country of origin and share your decision with the members in
your social network.
If
and when a fair NAFTA agreement will have been negotiated, we will promptly remove
our black-listing of avoidable US products and services.
