Utah delegation heads to Canada amid escalating trade war

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is leading a trade mission to Canada next week with former ambassador Jeff Flake, state agency heads and local company executives to identify business opportunities as escalating tariff policies threaten to upend international trade.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced the most expansive tariff regime in over a century with a blanket 10% tariff on most countries and rates of up to 50% on imports from places with significant trade barriers. Canada was excluded from the list but was subject to Trump’s first tariff increase on day one of his second term.

“This delegation is not going to criticize the Trump administration or Washington for any policies,” Flake, board chairman for World Trade Center Utah, said in a phone call Thursday with the Deseret News. “We’re just saying that it’s important for Utah businesses to navigate this environment in a way that benefits the state of Utah.”

The mission, which was originally planned for last year, appears to be the first trip to Canada by a United States governor since Trump announced a 25% tariff on a wide range of imports from Canada, one of the nation’s closest trade partners, in January.

Canada has also been affected by a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports and a 25% tariff on cars and car parts, with partial exceptions for automobiles that fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the country will implement retaliatory tariffs of 25% on all vehicles imported from the U.S. that are not compliant with the 2020 North American trade agreement. The tariff will not affect auto parts because of how integrated the auto assembly process is between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

“The president’s actions will reverberate here in Canada and across the world,” Carney said. “They are all unjustified, unwarranted, and, in our judgement, misguided.”

As the world awoke on Thursday to a changed economic order, global stock markets plunged and top officials from the European Union to China condemned the protectionist policies.

The Trump administration has defended the disruption to markets as a necessary step to eliminate trade imbalances, negotiate a fairer trade environment and incentivize investment in U.S. factories and American-made products.

Trump has also threatened industry-specific tariffs on copper, dairy, computer chips, lumber, oil, energy, alcohol and medicine.

Why do a trade mission to Canada?

Uncertainty at the federal level has made trade missions, like the ones Utah has been doing for decades, more critical than ever, according to Flake.

“We can’t control what comes out of Washington so it’s even more important that at the sub-national level we look for opportunities for Utah businesses to establish relationships that will benefit both countries,” Flake said.

In addition to finding sales deals for Utah businesses, Flake said that the trade mission will provide opportunities for Canadian companies to make direct investments, acquisitions or joint ventures inside of Utah to maintain consistent access to U.S. markets.

Utah’s governor said the trip would have a return on investment for taxpayers during a briefing with delegation members on Friday. But beyond connecting Utah businesses with Canadian trade partners, Cox said the trip would allow Utah leaders to showcase what makes the Beehive State great.

“What we will get an opportunity to do is just show people who Utah is,” Cox said. “And what we do best is we build relationships with people.”

The trade mission delegation will be composed of members of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, officials in Cox’s cabinet, leaders of World Trade Center Utah, a handful of state lawmakers, several university administrators and around a dozen business executives.

During the weeklong visit beginning on Saturday and ending on April 11, the delegation will travel to Montreal and Toronto, meeting with the U.S. Consulate in Montreal before participating in a number of site tours, panel discussions and events with Canadian companies specializing in critical mineral extraction and artificial intelligence.

Ryan Starks, the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, said that strengthening Utah’s ties with Canada will help to create “strategic opportunities for Utah businesses to expand, innovate, and compete globally.”

“As one of Utah’s top trading partners, Canada plays a vital role in our economic growth,” Starks said in a statement to the Deseret News. “By deepening this relationship, we’re opening doors to new investment, expanding market access, and reinforcing supply chains. This visit will help ensure Utah companies remain competitive and our state’s economy stays resilient.”

Utah-Canada trade by the numbers

Canada is Utah’s No. 2 trade partner in terms of exports and imports. In 2023, Utah exports to Canada totaled $1.7 billion and Utah imports from Canada totaled $3 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data compiled by the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

Utah’s top exports to Canada in 2024 were plastics products, motor vehicle parts and non-iron metals for processing. Heavy machinery and aerospace products were also in the top ten industries exporting to Canada.

Utah’s top imports from Canada in 2024 were processed non-iron metals, items that were initially exported to Canada and then returned after minor changes like packaging, and cattle. Engineered wood products and basic chemicals were also in the top ten.

Utah’s strong economic relationship with America’s northern neighbor is representative of the state’s outsized influence on the world stage. Utah ranks 16th in the nation for exports per capita and third in the West, behind Washington and Oregon.

“Utah punches above its weight in international trade,” said Natalie Gochnour, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, in an interview with the Deseret News. “It’s a big part of Utah’s economic success that in a globalized economy, we show up, we’re present.”

Utah governors have recognized this for decades, according to Gochnour. The international trade opportunities only increased in the lead up to, and aftermath of, the 2002 Olympic Games.

Now, with the state preparing to host another Olympics in 2034, it is important for not just the state’s top business leaders but for the state’s top elected officials to make the case for “Why Utah” across the continent and around the world, Gochnour said.

“What happens is when you bring a political leader, it opens doors,” she said. “And now Utah companies have a larger audience than they would have if they were solo.”