Trump Policies Will Feature Prominently in Port Days Debates About Trade
U.S. President Donald Trump looms large in debates all over the world these days, so it’s no surprise he’s also on the minds of people gathering in Saint John this week for East Coast Energy Connection, June 6-7, and Port Days, June 5-6.
The people gathering to debate energy issues are preoccupied with the logistics and competitive impacts of carbon pricing, especially given Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Accord.
Over breakfast Tuesday at Port Days, the discussion will revolve around trade issues and softwood lumber. Former premier David Alward, now Canada’s Consul General to New England, will most certainly touch on challenges related to increased softwood lumber tariffs and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
“We’re all very aware of the President’s intentions with respect to trade,” says Jim Quinn, president and CEO of Port Saint John. “We’re all watching carefully to see what direction [trade negotiations] will take.”
Quinn says it could be a positive development if it turns out that they just “modernize” a 30-year-old agreement. But he knows anything could happen once the agreement is opened up and everything is subject to change, potentially to the U.S. advantage.
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The Trump influence may well come up again at a lunchtime keynote address by Sarah Irving, executive vice president & chief brand officer with Irving Oil, though Quinn says she hasn’t told him about the substance of her remarks.
That luncheon is being co-sponsored by Port Saint John and the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce, and serves as bridge Quinn says from Port Days speeches and panel discussions to the events connected to East Coast Energy Connection.
In between the breakfast and lunchtime keynote speeches by Alward and Irving, there will three panel discussions:
- David Campbell, president of Jupia Consultants and chair of the new Energy Solutions Corporation, and Joel Richardson, vice-president of the Canadian Manufacturers Association, will lead a discussion of the economic outlook for the port and the province.
- There will be a moderated panel, called “Supply Chains in Transition,” featuring several speakers and moderated by Wendy Zatylny, president of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities (ACPA)
- There will also be a “Tourism and Cruise” panel discussion, featuring panelists Arnaldo Zanonato, senior manager of port adventures & recreation at Disney Cruise Line; and Liz Gammon, executive vice president at Access Cruise Inc. & principal at Shorexpert.com