Building Bridges: Key Takeaways from Leading a Canadian Business Delegation to Trump’s Inauguration
Here are the reflections of the C-USBA founders from the trip to DC, where they led a delegation of Canadian Business Leaders to President Trump’s inauguration, along with co-founders of Canada-US Business Alliance, Lorraine D’Alessio, Esq., Faisal C. They met members of the cabinet, Senators, Governors, Congressmen, Congresswomen, Political advisors, among others:
1) Most agreed that tariffs require mindful consideration and implementation to ensure objectives are achieved. While some of them agreed that tariffs are not good for US Businesses, and US Consumers
2) But they welcome the opportunity for negotiation this presents to restore fairness in the trade partnerships with US’ trade partners, and eliminate the free rider syndrome. Security is the number 1 priority for them. So the 2% NATO spending target is critical and needs major acceleration; border security is critical; crack down on immigration loopholes that permit individuals hostile to Canada and US is essential
3) Creating awareness about Canada and our trade relationship and integrated supply chains is important. Not everyone knows. No one I spoke to, knew the father of AI is from Canada, and how strong we are in our AI research and AI talent.
4) AI is a massive opportunity for both the countries to partner on. To do so, we must ensure that our AI regulations are as aligned as possible. DST is also a sticking point here.
5) It was quite clear that there was openness to negotiation. Hence this is time to be engaging in conversations, and not for media battles or threats of retaliatory tariffs, which is an obvious response if we are driven by fear. This is the time to be fearless. There was a consistent ethos among everyone I met that the Trump administration is going to be economically great for US, and that’s what their citizens have chosen as their priority. So if he is doing right by his country, we need to do the same, and find a win-win scenario at the negotiation table.
6) We will similarly need to steer our ship with better fiscal responsibility, government efficiency, diversifying our trade relationships, investing in innovation. As business leaders we need to think bigger, be innovative, improve our productivity, collaborate more.
As per the goal, Canada-US Business Alliance were able to build bridges and create channels of communication across various departments, as well as create various avenues for Canadian Businesses to engage. Now the real work begins!
At C-USBA, we are committed to driving win-win solutions through actionable proposals. Our unique position as business leaders allowed for open, constructive dialogue with US officials, providing valuable insights & shaping future policy directions. We remain dedicated to fostering a resilient Canada-US trade relationship and invite collaboration from stakeholders to drive meaningful economic progress. As C-USBA represents 2,000 businesses in Canada & 500 in the US, we have the leverage to make an impact!
