Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As the tariff war continues between the United States and Canada, the area's manufacturing community is concerned this could harshly affect business here.
Todd Tranum of the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier says the tariffs are extremely concerning to him.
"We do a lot of long term planning, and what we look for is stability and this level of kind of chaotic policy from day to day, and policy shifts really puts a damper on planning as well as investing," said Tranum in an interview with WBEN.
He says companies are trying to make strategic decisions around retaining and growing their workforce, and adding new product, investing in new product, investing in new equipment, investing in innovation and technology.
"As long as there's instability, a lot of those plans have to sit on the on the sideline," Tranum added.
Tranum is also paying attention to Wall Street.
"There are some recessionary signs in the economy, unfortunately, and this sort of chaotic day to day policy just adds to the uncertainty of consumers as well as businesses. That's not good for those working in the economy," Tranum said.
Tranum says trade policy should not be done with a hammer, but rather a scalpel.
"We've had a history where China has dumped a lot of product into the United States at super low cost because they've over produced it and it's subsidized by their government. Our government should be taking an active role in going after that kind of behavior versus going in the trade wars with countries who have traditionally been good trade partners and are tied closely to to our economy and our future economy and our jobs in our region," Tranum said.
As a state, Tranum says there's $42 billion in trade with Canada.
