‘Living in unprecedented times’: Port Saint John ready to tap into new markets amid tariff war

Craig Estabrooks, CEO of Port Saint John, discusses the impact of U.S. tariffs on business.

Craig Estabrooks, president and CEO of Port Saint John, says although the tariffs implemented by United States President Donald Trump aren’t being felt at the port yet, that doesn’t mean things couldn’t change in the future.

“We are unquestionably living in unprecedented times. The impacts to date have not really been seen at the port, we’re seeing our container business be very strong to start the year, both on an import and export standpoint,” Estabrooks told CTV News Atlantic’s Todd Battis on Monday.

“We hear from shippers and receivers that they’re looking to get ahead of some of these tariffs, so it’s really trying to take stock of where we are and what value we can provide. The message we’re out there delivering as the port of Saint John, our existing container services today go north, south, to the Caribbean, Latin America, we go north Europe, we go to the Mediterranean, we have great optionality for people looking for different markets. So, that’s what we’re really focused on from an export standpoint.”

Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum came into effect last Wednesday.

This comes after the president’s 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy and potash, briefly went into effect in early March before Trump signed an executive order partly delaying them.

Most of New Brunswick’s exports head to the United States, leading Estabrooks to remind everyone now may be the time to tap into a new market.

“Should you have a market that you’re not pursuing today, should your goods potentially be able to end up in Europe where we have strong free-trade agreements, or if Latin America or Caribbean is a market you want to break into with your frozen product, we have those services today,” he said.

“And if we know about where you need to get to, we may not have the service right at this moment, but we can work with the great shipping lines that call on the port of Saint John to find those services that we don’t yet have today.”

Estabrooks adds the port is working with the shipping lines to understand what markets could open up for New Brunswick and Canadian-based exporters.

The Saint John port has undergone a number of upgrades lately, including a new cold storage facility, and two new cranes to help the port double its capacity.

As for what challenges the trade war has on the port’s new resources, Estabrooks says right now it’s just the uncertainty being experienced day-to-day.

“It’s not really knowing what next week and next month and six months from now is going to look like. And the private sector doesn’t typically react well to uncertainty. They like to know what environment they’re operating in, so we stay close to our partners and understand their needs,” he said.

“What they’re telling us in the short term is that they will persevere, they will figure out some of the supply chain challenges that they face. Personally, I think that the larger threat would be to the greater economy. If we do enter into a contractionary period, a recession if you will, that undoubtedly has impact on every port’s volume because there will be less trade, less economic activity. So, that is ever-present in my mind.”

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