FMT Director Pascal Thériault comments on boycott of American products
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American companies that employ hundreds of Quebec workers could suffer from a call for a boycott as suggested on certain social media, reportsand others.
economist and agronomist Pascal Thériault, Director of the Farm Management and Technology Program, told TVAthat caution is required, despite the good faith of Quebecers who want to respond to Donald Trump's threats of putting tariffs on Canadian goods. The impending trade war has been paused for at least 30 days as of Monday, February 2.
“You have to be very careful. Can we question ourselves as consumers to make the right choices? That's for sure, but you have to think about the impact. Often, these [targeted] companies have factories that process locally,” he noted.
It's not always easy to identify clearly which products are "made-in-Canada."
“If you have a U.S.-based company that’s processing food products in Canada with Canadian agricultural products, is it that bad? That’s the question we must ask ourselves right now,” Thériault told the
For example, a Lays chip factory near Quebec City is owned by an American company, but it creates hundreds of jobs and buys its potatoes locally, he said.
“Yes, Lays is an American company, but ultimately if we try to boycott Lays, we’re going to hurt Quebec workers and Quebec farmers.”
The tariffs loom at a difficult time of year.
“In the summer months, we're more than competitive here in Canada to produce our own fruits and vegetables,”Thériault “But instead of trying to fight nature, we've just learned to import from the Southern U.S. during the winter months because it's easier and it's cheaper.”
Still, he pointed out in a , “You can live strictly with Canadian products in fruits and vegetables if you are prepared to make choices,” noting one solution is to eat frozen products.