Anxiety throughout manufacturing sector as trade war looms
Anxiety is being felt throughout the region’s manufacturing sector, because of the trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump. It’s not knowing what comes next that’s causing grief, said the CEO for ETBO Tool and Die outside Aylmer, Ont.
“We don’t know what’s happening today. We don’t know what’s happening tomorrow. The consequences are severe,” said Etienne Borm.
The family-run manufacturer employs about 200 people. Borm said everything it produces ends up in the United States, whether direct from the Aylmer plant, or after stopping at a Canadian customer first to have value-added. He worries it could all come to a standstill.
“We could be a week away from an automotive shutdown. We could be nowhere near an automotive shutdown. I kind of liken it to the beginning of COVID. You sort of didn’t know what was going on, things change by the minute,” commented Borm.
The feeling is much the same throughout the southwestern Ontario manufacturing belt. In the town of Ingersoll, several hundred workers at the CAMI electric van plant await news of how they could be caught in a trade war, along with employees at several other parts manufacturers in the community. Ingersoll Mayor Brian Petrie hopes cooler heads prevail.