The decisions US President-designate Joe Biden makes in the coming weeks could be felt so far. Here are six decrees that we could see bouncing in the backyards of Canadian leaders or in the pockets of maple leaf consumers.
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More expensive food?
Washington’s new approach to the pandemic will be very different from that of the Trump era, “which could call logistics at the border into question,” according to the director of the Agri-Food Analytical Science Laboratory at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Sylvain Charlebois.
“We could impose new, more restrictive sanitary measures that could affect the flow of fruit and vegetables imported from the United States and Mexico between November and May,” explains the expert. A blockage in the supply chain in the United States could therefore reduce accessibility and increase the prices of certain retail products.
For better and for worse
Joe Biden had pledged to strengthen the Buy American Act, a protectionist measure that could hurt Canadian exporters.
This US $ 700 billion (CAD $ 913 million) purchasing policy aims to help the US economy. Some local businesses could therefore have more difficulty selling their products to our neighbors to the south.
Mr. Charlebois believes, however, that the Buy American Act could lower the price of certain products, such as pork and beef.
“There are a lot of foodstuffs for which we will have surpluses, which would lead to a drop in price,” he explains.
Boyfriend Boyfriend
“We must not forget to what extent Washington is becoming Canadian,” says Mr. Charlebois.
Vice-President Kamala Harris lived in Westmount for five years, and the candidate for Secretary of State, Susan Rice, is married to a Canadian.
“When you know a country, you are more sensitive to its reality. This administration is likely to be on the lookout for what is happening here, ”he continues. Canada will thus regain its status as a “friend” of the United States and will be seen less as a “rival”.
“With the arrival of Biden, we find these hooked atoms between the two leaders [Justin Trudeau], which always has an influence on diplomatic and economic relations, ”adds Gilles Vandal, professor at the School of Applied Politics at the University of Sherbrooke.
Less surprises
With the arrival of Biden to power, we find ourselves facing “an administration that will be predictable, unlike Donald Trump who was always seeking to sow chaos”, warns Jonathan Paquin, professor in the Department of Political Science at Laval University , in Quebec.
Canadian entrepreneurs will not learn overnight about the imposition of a tax on timber “out of the blue or through tweets,” Mr. Charlebois said ironically.
Seeing the blows coming, they can prepare to increase or decrease their production, for example.
One more argument for Hydro-Québec
Joe Biden wants to start his country’s transition to green energies, enough to give Hydro-Quebec more ammunition, which is seeking to have its power line project between Quebec and New England accepted.
The crown corporation wants to export 1,200 megawatts of “clean” electricity, which could ultimately generate billions of dollars in revenues. But she still faces opposition in Maine.
As Biden wants to focus on energy produced on American soil, the real impact on the Hydro project is difficult to predict.
“Will he want to prioritize local or imported green energies? These decisions belong to the States, not to the President, but he can influence them, ”recently pointed out to the QMI Agency Julie-Pier Nadeau of the Raoul-Dandurand Chair.
Towards a reopening of the border?
Month after month since March 18, the closure of the land border between Canada and the United States has been extended. The Trudeau government has since repeated that reopening it greatly depends on the health situation in our neighbors.
Biden has promised a much stronger approach than his predecessor to fight the coronavirus, including recommending the wearing of the mask nationwide. If the president-elect manages to bend the transmission curve, Canada may have to reassess its position.
“We would like the border to be open, but we can’t do this unless we can make sure Canadians are safe,” Justin Trudeau told Ontario radio in late October.