As quickly as vehicles are unloaded from train cars at the Autoport in Eastern Passage, N.S., more are driven onboard.
One-hundred-eighty thousand vehicles a year pass through the facility, making it one of the busiest in North America.
There’s more than rail at the hub. Vehicles loaded aboard ships can be headed to other destinations in Canada or throughout the world, including the United States.
As of Thursday, all international vehicle imports to the States will be subject to a 25 per cent tariff next week.
“I don’t know how it affects the industry in the States. A lot of Canadian cars get exported to the United States on a monthly basis and they get sold in the U.S. right away,” says used car dealer Neil Stanton.
The auto sector in North America is deeply integrated, with parts crossing the border numerous times before a vehicle is road-ready.
President Donald Trump says the tariffs will only be applied to the parts not made in the U.S.
“It’s all over the board right now. I don’t know what to make of it, we just have to sit tight as a business, I’m sure I’m not alone,” Stanton says.
“In the used car part of the automotive industry, I don’t see how it’s going to impact used cars very much.”
Gary Shea also sells used cars at his dealership in Lower Sackville, N.S. He says the impact will be minimal because the cars he’s selling are already in Canada.
“They’re not coming across the border; there’s no border tariffs on them. Canada is not going to put tariffs on their own cars. They’re staying in the country, so I don’t see how it could happen,” Shea says.
One thing Shea says could happen is that some customers will stop being loyal to a certain make of vehicle.
“I think there will be a change in what they’re looking to buy, and people are not going to want to buy cars out of the States,” he says.
It’s also possible they will pump the brakes on the purchase of a vehicle altogether until the tariff turmoil has settled.
For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
