Reuters: With maple syrup tariff, Canada-U.S. trade dispute spills beyond metals
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada’s retaliation against U.S. President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs includes proposed duties on maple syrup, a nod to a national symbol and a powerful industry in the French-speaking province of Quebec that could hurt producers in Maine.
While small in dollar value, the tariff shows how Canada’s retaliation has turned a dispute over metals into a broader conflict, touching many sectors.
Quebec, Canada’s second-largest province by population, accounted for about 72 percent of the world’s production in 2017, but U.S producers were eating into Canada’s market share.
Vermont is the biggest syrup producer in the United States, but most of Canada’s imports come from Maine, according to data from Statistics Canada.
“The government here is trying to have maximum political impact, so that members of Congress, whether senators or congress-people, put pressure on Trump to say look, this is hurting us,” said Patrick Leblond, a trade expert at the University of Ottawa.
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WNU Editor: While most see me as someone who maintains a blog on wars, international politics, military and defense trends, economic news, etc., I am actually an entrepreneur who over the years has done a few projects. One of them is .... correction was .... maple syrup. Quebec has the best maple syrup in the world. It is liquid gold .... and when applied to pancakes, waffles, etc. .... enhances the food experience immeasurably. A dozen years ago .... because I own quite a bit of land in the Laurentians .... I made an business arrangement with a friend of mine who wanted to use my thousands of maple trees to produce it .... and then use me to sell it to my many contacts in Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and the U.K. (the Brits love the stuff). So I did the the traveling, showed the product (everyone went crazy for it), and collected mega orders for it. We started to put up the tubing and collection system for our sap (that we then boil away to obtain the syrup) .... but before completing our lines we then received a visit from maple syrup law enforcement agents (yes you read it right .... there are actually armed sheriffs who enforce maple syrup production in Quebec) who told us that if we started to produce the stuff, they would arrest us, jail us, and fine us heavily. So ended my dreams of being the Maple Syrup King of the World .... and the tens of millions of dollars that I could have made from the stuff. If there is ever a cartel that deserves to be busted it is this one .... and to now read that the Canadian government is imposing tariffs on U.S. Maple Syrup because of our trade war?!?!?! .... it does not take me much to make me apoplectic .... but this one does.
On a side note .... my contacts/customers in Asia and the U.K. still wanted the maple syrup. So I connected them to the Quebec agency that is responsible for making the product in Quebec .... and told them to make a deal. But guess what .... they are told there is not enough to export to them directly .... and that is the excuse that they have been receiving for ten years ?!?!?!?!
Update: For those who are interested in more information, here is an excellent article that describes how insane it is in Quebec when it comes to maple syrup .... Maple syrup rebellion (Financial Post/National Post).
3 comments:
I agree, Canadian maple syrup is drool-worthy. Too bad you were not allowed to produce...would have been a lot of fun too! Good luck that the law changes or maybe you find a good trade lawyer. :)
You left out that huge amounts are stored in warehouses as a cartel, not released for sale, and used to manipulate prices. In other words, a Canadian syrup OPEC.
Haha I love these digressions that you make sometimes WNU editor. Your a very interesting person and it would be great and fulfilling experience to get a beer with you sometime.
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