Premier David Eby said Monday that the provincial government will pause retaliatory measures against the U.S. tariffs, following the announcement of a 30-day pause. 

Eby first announced the province's retaliatory measures Saturday (Feb. 1), but on Monday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that after he had spoken with President Donald Trump, the U.S. has agreed to pause tariffs on Canada for at least 30 days. The announcement came after the two leaders had spoken earlier and after the United States had held off imposing tariffs on Mexico.

"But that doesn't mean that we will abandon our preparations for non-tariff measures," Eby said Monday afternoon, after what he described was an "eventful" day. "If we can avoid these tariffs, we should, but we won't do so at the expense of our sovereignty or of our integrity as a country..."

He added that B.C. needs to be "prepared" if "there is a tweet tomorrow that puts the tariffs back on."

Those preparations include regulatory reform at home and trade diversification abroad, he said.

While Eby acknowledged that 30 days is "not enough time" to "shift away from our significant trade relationship" with the U.S., the provincial government "will take every minute" to "ensure that we are supporting businesses, to diversify, that we are kicking down, the internal trade barriers in this country" that have made it easier to trade with the U.S. than with Ontario. 

Eby also promised that B.C. would be building stronger ties to countries facing similar threats, like the United Kingdom, the European Union and Asian countries like Japan and Korea.

"It's just a matter of time before (Trump) turns his attention to those countries and we want to make sure that we are working together to respond, that we are diversifying our relationships with countries that want to trade with us and do so in a way that is fair and understandable and in a spirit of friendship." 

Eby said earlier that mining and refining companies have already started to re-orient their trade.

"They are re-directing to other markets that are not tariffing and they take no joy in that," he said. "It's painful for them."

But he added that they will be able to find other customers over the long term.

"(They) are prepared to find other customers, and that' is exactly what they are doing." 

Eby also used the occasion to announce that government would release a preliminary list of natural resource projects Tuesday that could be sped up "with particular attention to more rural and remote communities that are more likely" to be affected by future tariffs. Eby said earlier projects represent $20 billion worth of investment, creating 6,000 jobs. 

"The list will grow."

Monday's announcement means that American-made liquor from so-called "red-states" will eventually return to the shelves of public liquor stores.

"Those bottles will be back on their shelf," he said. "We are not going to be rushing to do it."

Their removal was among the measures announced Saturday by Eby after Trump had said that the United States would impose tariffs of 25 per cent 香蕉视频直播� 10 per cent on energy 香蕉视频直播� on Canadian goods. Eby Saturday also directed government and Crown corporations to buy Canadian goods and services first. 

Eby called these steps evidence of B.C.'s good faith, but also struck a cautious note that looks beyond the next month.

"(The) reality is that these unilateral actions by the United States through the President have changed our relationship for the foreseeable future," he said. "Our work continues while this tariff threats hangs over our heads." 

The threat and the accompanying uncertainty certainly hangs over the provincial budget due to be tabled March 4, one day before the 30-day-long pause expires. Eby acknowledged this broader uncertainty, which he described as part of a 香蕉视频直播渄eliberate香蕉视频直播� strategy by Trump to "destroy Canada's economy and to drive us into becoming" the 51st state.

"I find it reprehensible, inexplicable and and profoundly disappointing," he said. 

Eby added the closeness of the two dates 香蕉视频直播渋llustrates香蕉视频直播� the challenges that businesses and ultimately government face. "It (the uncertainty) makes it very difficult to plan...because the economic growth, the number of jobs that we expect to see over the period of the budget will be affected by the tariffs." Eby acknowledged that "it's very possible that we could release a budget that is based on a set of assumptions that a few days later are out of date. That is the environment that we are in right now." 

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