Foreign Affairs Minister Listens to the Boating Industry

June 28, 2018

This week Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Chrystia Freeland, spoke to the House of Commons Committee on International Trade to provide Members of Parliament an update on the latest information regarding the escalating trade war between Canada and the U.S. The Minister was asked to comment on the schedule 2 of listed items and said, “I have heard from people in the boating sector and that is feedback that we are taking very seriously, I’ve heard the concerns of the boating industry.”

While this is no guarantee that boats will be removed from the tariff list, we are pleased to see that the Government of Canada is listening to our concerns. Our efforts to date, including strong letters to the Prime Minister, Ministers and dozens of MP’s, have been heard and are having a positive impact as we continue to work towards protecting the Boating industry.

The global trade war has intensified in the past two weeks, and the recreational boating industry has been placed in the crosshairs. As a result, the industry is experiencing rising manufacturing costs, retaliatory tariffs, and order cancelations.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association Canada (NMMA), which represents the recreational boating industry, wrote a two-page letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It asked that the federal government remove four tariffs that target recreational boats from its proposed scope of retaliatory tariffs against the United States.

These tariffs “will cause irreparable and disastrous damage to the industry, from which it would likely never recover,” wrote association president Sara Anghel.

The four tariffs of 10 per cent the National Marine Manufacturers Association Canada wants lifted include:

• Inflatable boats
• Sailboats, with or without auxiliary motor
• Motorboats, other than outboard motorboats
• Outboard motorboats, other vessels for pleasure or sport

If you care about the boating industry in Canada, the time to act is now. Write to your local MP and please take some time to do now and have your voice heard. Boating BC and their national partners will continue to address the issue with government and emphasize the impact it will have on our industry.