The Columbia Valley Chamber says local businesses are feeling anxious over the uncertainty brought on by tariffs imposed by the United States.
Executive Director Pete Bourke says the business community in the Columbia Valley is unsure of the effects of the US-imposed tariffs.
“The overall tone is just uncertainty, and I think that’s applicable locally and almost anywhere,” said Bourke.
“Nobody truly knows the rollout, the impact, the scale or what’s really going to happen.”
Bourke says the Chamber working with larger organizations to get into a better position to help local businesses.
“We’re largely following the lead of the Canadian Chamber or B.C. Chamber and some other organizations like the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, who are doing all of the heavy lifting on the advocacy side,” said Bourke.
“Leveraging the strength of networks is key at this time. That goes along with arranging different workshops or information sources we can share as appropriate for our region.”
Many communities in the Columbia Valley are dependent on tourism, and Bourke says businesses could shift their marketing campaigns to focus on other Canadians.
“We have folks on the tourism front spending their funds domestically and choosing to travel within Canada and ideally within B.C.,” said Bourke.
The Columbia Valley Chamber is looking to gain insight from the business community on how they feel.
“We have a member survey currently active around the tariffs,” said Bourke.
“Hearing and having those local anecdotes that we can use when we are in larger advocacy areas, provincially or nationally, is always critical to tell our story of what’s happening in our region.”
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