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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ly 12 ,2 01 8 | 20 Manufacturing and Showroom Location 136 Watline Ave, Unit 5-6 Mississauga, ON L4Z 2E2 T: 905-507-1666/ 905-507-3337 F: 905-507-1110 info@beyondkitchens.ca Oakville Showroom Location 466 Speers Rd, Unit 6-7 Oakville, ON L6K 3W9 T: 905-338-8999/ 905-338-8199 F: 905-338-8099 info@beyondkitchens.ca *Offer Valid Until July 31st. 2018 NO HSTNO HST EVENT WWW. BEYONDKITCHENS. CA Beyond Your Expectations rity threat to the U.S. The Trump administra- tion and Trump himself has accused Canada of "taking advantage" of America in areas of trade. The Trudeau govern- ment has responded by im- posing tariffs on 235 U.S. products. O'Toole met with repre- sentatives of several local businesses during a round- table discussion at the Oak- ville Chamber of Com- merce office at 700 Kerr St. "The Conservatives are doing a lot of outreach across the country to try and hear from employers, get some ideas and also ap- preciate the risks to jobs and the economy if we can't get U.S. trade talks back on track," he said. "I'm very worried about the application on the auto industry. Canada, since the 1960s, has had an integrat- ed industry for auto-as- sembly, auto parts. We can't go back on that or it would hurt Ontario in a large way." While O'Toole said he agrees with the Liberal government pushing back with the retaliatory tariffs he said there is more they could be doing to handle the situation better. "It's not about agreeing with Mr. Trump, but it is about working with them on some areas of concern. The U.S. has concerns about steel and aluminum from China (entering the United States through Can- ada). Canada for a year didn't do anything about U.S. concerns," said O'Toole. "They are our friend, our ally, but they are also our largest customer. Al- most all of the chamber members here today ex- pressed that 80 per cent of their exports or more go to the U.S. So we have to keep this relationship strong and going, even if it is diffi- cult and even if in some ways they don't agree with Mr. Trump. We have to take their concerns seriously." O'Toole said that during the chamber roundtable he heard from some business- es, including a steel manu- facturer, who are already being impacted by Trump's tariffs. He said the ripple effects from those tariffs also im- pact logistics and transpor- tation companies, as well as those involved in the supply chains for those who are impacted. Worse would come if the threatened 25 per cent tar- iff were imposed on Cana- dian-produced vehicles en- tering America. The impact on Oakville would be particularly sig- nificant given the presence of the Oakville Ford assem- bly plant. "It could be devastating. No one wants to see that happen because suddenly excellent first rate world class cars assembled here and the parts supply that go into them would be un- competitive in the United States," said O'Toole. "Historically 80 per cent or more of what has rolled off the line here in Oakville has been sold in the United States. Going back to the 1965 Auto Pact we've had free trade in vehicles and we need to get back to that because if there is a 25 per cent tariff plopped on a car and other vehicles don't have that- it's hard to see consumers paying for the more expensive one. That could lead to job losses, that could lead to layoffs, that could lead to less in- vestment in Ontario plants and more investment in U.S. plants. On top of elec- tricity prices and the car- bon tax and a number of other things that are al- ready making Ontario a bit uncompetitive, the tariffs could be very damaging." NEWS lContinued from page 1 Local impact 'could be devastating': O'Toole Conservative Foreign Affairs Critic Erin O'Toole (centre) speaks with Tim Caddigan (left) and Drew Redden of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce. Nikki Wesley/Metroland