Kelowna chamber hosting 'Tariff Threat Response' panel March 5

This event is super timely given Trump's ominous promise of sweeping tariffs to be slapped on Canadian exports starting March 4.

The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce is hosting a 'Taiff Threat Discussion' panel on March 5, 2 pm to 3:30 pm, at the University Centre Ballroom at UBCO.

Tickets are $15 at: https://secure.kelownachamber.org/events

"Daily announcements from the US are creating significant uncertainty for Okanagan and Canadian businesses," reads the Kelowna chamber news release detailing the panel.

"(The situation) is fraying business nerves. Even with a 30-day pause (from early February to early March), President Trump's executive order to impose tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States marks a major protectionist shift in US trade policy. A 25% tariff on all Canadian non-energy exports and a 10% tariff on Canadian energy exports to the US (alongside tariffs on Mexico and China) will cause substantial economic disruptions for the global economy."

The panel is made up of six experts who know about tariffs and-or work at companies that will be negatively impacted by tariffs.

They will discuss the ramifications of tariffs on local companies and the economy and what businesses can do to soldier forward.

The panelists are:

- Grant Stevens, the chief corporate services officer at Kelowna's largest private-sector employer -- KF Aerospace.

KF Aerospace does airplane maintenance and retrofitting for various airlines, governments and militaries -- including American clients United Airlines and Alaska Airlines.

- Nick Arkle, the CEO of Gorman Brothers Lumber in West Kelowna, which also has a division in Washington state.

Gorman Brothers exports wood products to 35 countries, including the US.

- John Lambiris, vice-president of sales and procurement at The Star Group, which includes Star Produce, Sliced FC, Consolidated Fruit Packers, BC Hot House, Whole Leaf and Inspired.

The group is the leading distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables in Western Canada and also has facilities in Washington state, Arizona and Florida.

- Barry Penner, chair of the Energy Futures Institute, which advocates for responsible energy development in Canada.

- Heather Weber, the leader of the indirect tax group at MNP accountants and consultants.

She's experienced in cross-border transactions and works with business owners, Aboriginal and health care clients.

- Ross Hickey is an economics professor at UBC Okanagan and commentator on international trade.

Earlier this month, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce released data showing how exposed 41 cities across the country are to potential US tariffs.

Ranking 28 out of 41, Kelowna's tariff exposure index is minus 9.9%.

That means companies in the city overall export very little to the US and that exports to the US represents a very small part of the Kelowna economy.

Some other numbers from the study show:

- Goods exported from 296 Kelowna companies to the US amounts to about $385 million annually

- Kelowna's overall GDP (gross domestic product) is $12.3 billion for a GDP per capital of $52,888

- Kelowna exports to the US accounts for $1,559 annually per capita

- Kelowna's exports to the US represents 2.8% of the city's GDP

- 82.8% of Kelowna's exports go the the US, meaning only 17.2% of exports go anywhere else in the world

- The population of the Kelowna metropolitan area (essentially the Central Okanagan) is 246,894 (now estimated to be 260,000)