As U.S. tariffs roil markets, Canadian businesses build on European ties at world trade fair

In a sprawling accumulation centre successful Hanover, Germany, thousands of businesses, including 250 from Canada, are taking portion successful 1 of the world's largest commercialized fairs focused connected concern exertion and innovation. 

Rows of booths and flashy displays are meant to spark conversation, but overmuch of the treatment has been astir the U.S. tariffs, which person roiled markets, compromised relations and forced immoderate businesses to accelerate their propulsion for caller trading partners. 

"I was scared, I was precise nervous, but it has been perfectly overwhelming to spot the effect and the reception we are getting from European markets," said Brad Sparkman, president of Ontario-based Innovating Finishing Solutions.

As some Canada and the European Union (EU) instrumentality banal of the tariffs levied by the U.S., their astir important trading partner, businesses are trying to measure precisely however they volition beryllium impacted — and whether they tin mitigate immoderate of the economical deed by strengthening different commercialized relationships. 

On Wednesday, the Trump medication introduced a 20 per cent across-the-board tariff connected the EU, and connected Thursday morning, a 25 per cent import work connected overseas cars went into effect, including connected those made successful Canada. 

Cooling narration with U.S. customers

While Canada appears to person been spared successful Wednesday's announcement, it is already grappling with a 25 per cent tariff connected definite Canadian goods and 10 per cent connected energy.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has called the tariffs a calamity for planetary trade. At the Hanover fair, concern radical accidental they person been near confused, dumbfounded — and adjacent hurt. 

Sparkman, whose concern is chiefly focused connected utilizing robotic exertion to overgarment automobiles, fought backmost tears arsenic helium told CBC News astir however immoderate of his U.S. contacts aren't arsenic receptive to moving unneurotic successful the existent climate. 

"I consciousness similar we are losing a truly bully household member," helium said.  "The information that we can't proceed to bash concern similar we erstwhile did, it saddens me."

WATCH | How Sparkman is increasing his concern successful Europe: 

Sparkman said helium started venturing into the European marketplace a fewer years ago, due to the fact that helium suspected commercialized with the U.S. could go much burdensome. 

Now, to effort to alleviate the effects of the tariffs, helium is considering doing much accumulation successful the U.S. and branching retired further into Europe. 

His operation, based retired of Orangeville and Peterborough, has partnered with the Japanese automation institution FANUC and is doing immoderate enactment successful Germany, wherever cars and brands similar Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes-Benz are the biggest export. 

More commercialized with world's 3rd-largest economy

More than 4,000 companies are progressive successful the Hanover commercialized fair, and astir a 4th of them are from Germany, the world's third-largest economy. Canada is this year's spouse state for the yearly expo, with Canadian companies taking portion alongside representatives from the provinces, immoderate municipalities and universities. 

In caller weeks, determination was a spike successful involvement from Canadian businesses looking to instrumentality portion successful the commercialized fair.  

Jayson Myers, the CEO of NGen, an Ottawa-based non-profit focused connected technological improvement successful precocious manufacturing, said that 80 Canadian companies signed up successful the past 2 months, a clip erstwhile the tariff issues go much dramatic. 

"I don't deliberation we volition ever regenerate our economical narration with the United States, but the problems implicit the past mates of months truly showed the urgency … to find caller markets, find caller customers," helium said successful an interrogation with CBC News successful Hanover. 

The EU is Canada's second-largest trading partner, pursuing the U.S. In 2024, the 27-member bloc exported $84 cardinal successful goods to Canada, portion Canada exported $34 cardinal to the EU. 

The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which provisionally came into effect successful 2017, regulates commercialized betwixt the 2 partners — but the statement has not yet been ratified by 10 EU nations owed to a fig of concerns they hold, including immoderate astir nutrient information and entree to nationalist procurement contracts. 

Germany, which ratified CETA successful 2022, saw exports to Canada deed astir $25 cardinal successful 2023. Canadian exports reached conscionable implicit a 3rd of that. 

Chris Wyatt, caput of income and selling for Kubes Steel, a metallic fabricator based successful Stoney Creek, Ont., often exports products to the U.S., and helium said helium believes the States volition apt stay a cardinal lawsuit contempt the tariffs. He decided to acceptable up a booth astatine the Hanover just due to the fact that helium was hoping determination could beryllium European request for his company's products. 

Wyatt concedes determination isn't overmuch of an accidental present but said determination could beryllium successful the aboriginal arsenic Europe moves to ramp up its defence spending.

How protectionism could backfire

Hartmut Rauen, the lawman enforcement manager of VDMA, a German relation of much than 3,000 mechanical engineering companies, believes that Canada and Germany tin collaborate much erstwhile it comes to greenish technology, automation and artificial intelligence. 

While helium understands that the U.S. has mislaid a precocious proportionality of its manufacturing jobs, helium said he doesn't recognize the Trump administration's strategy of trying to summation concern done protectionism. 

In the abbreviated term, helium said, the U.S. volition person to support importing highly specialized German technology, since its factories can't nutrient that present connected their own.

But with the tariffs, it volition outgo much — and Rauen said helium thinks determination volition beryllium a noticeable interaction for consumers. 

"It mightiness extremity successful a catastrophe for the U.S. system and besides for the satellite economy," helium said. 

When German outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the commercialized just connected Sunday, helium warned against the "misguided way of protectionism," praised Canada and said Germany stands with the "independent sovereign country."

The sojourn by Germany's person and immoderate of the absorption from the German concern assemblage was encouraging to those successful attendance, and manufacture experts anticipation it could construe into existent trade. 

"There's not 1 panel, not 1 lawsuit I attended this week wherever determination was not a beardown motion for lasting up with [Canada],"  said Yvonne Denz, the CEO astatine Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

"I'm hoping that my telephone starts ringing adjacent week and my inbox volition get ... jammed with inquiries astir what we tin bash successful Canada."