June 12, 2018

Across Canada, all the marine trades associations and NMMA Canada are taking action on the 10% tariffs just imposed on boats coming in from the USA.

NMMA Canada understands the need for the Government of Canada to retaliate in response to the announcement from the US that it will place a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum from Canada. However, a trade war between Canada and the US is bad for the recreational boating industry across North America. 

It is extremely disappointing that the Government of Canada needs to make these drastic decisions. This trade war will severely harm the $10 billion Canadian recreational boating industry which employs 75,000 Canadians. Approximately 65% of total boat sales in Canada are manufactured in the US. In fact, the US is the top market for both imports and exports in Canada with engines and boats imported from the US totaling $797.2 million and exports into the US totaling $192.8 million.

In cooperation with the Atlantic Marine Trades Association, AMQ, Boating Ontario, the MMPDA and Boating BC, the NMMA is actively working on this important matter and is engaging on a number of fronts to express our concerns to governments on both sides of the border. NMMA Canada will make an official submission to the Government of Canada tomorrow (June 13) outlining our specific concerns, including calling out the fact that boats are the ONLY recreational product listed in the tariff. The submission will also ask for a number of provisions to be considered so in the event that the tariff does proceed, we will do our best to lessen the blow. The industry should contact their Member of Parliament with their concerns. Here is a letter to send.

If you wish to discuss the topic or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact your own marine trades association or Sara Anghel, President, NMMA Canada at sanghel@nmma.org