Tariffs and the Looming Threat of a Trade War

“May you live in interesting times”.

We certainly never thought to be writing and sharing articles about a trade war with our American neighbours, and yet here we are. America is threatening to implement a new tariff regime which would upend decades of free trade between Canada, the USA and Mexico.  The far-reaching impacts of new tariffs are difficult to predict with precision, but will almost certainly create inflationary pressures especially if (as expected) the Canadian governments follow suit and implement counter-tariffs on American goods and products being sent in to Canada.

Our friends at the Canadian Condominium Institute (CCI) have published a helpful article with advice and guidance on what to expect in the event of new tariffs.  In particular, they have offered input on increases in costs for items such as elevator manufactured components.  They also reasonably conclude that with the cost of all inputs rising, insurance costs (which are based on “replacement value” of building components) will necessarily increase as well.  They conclude that while inflationary pressures might not be seen immediately, they will almost certainly occur later this year and into next as local distributors become unable to absorb their additional input costs.

Budgeting for Strata Corporation operations is always something of a challenge, and we will continue to offer professional guidance and absorb the most up to date information to help you with that process.