'We're dealing with an unknown': P.E.I. manufacturers meet ahead of NAFTA negotiations

With upcoming negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the Trump administration, the P.E.I. government brought in the province's top manufacturers Wednesday to hash out their concerns about the potential outcomes of those talks.

Minister of Economic Development and TourismHeath McDonald saidit all boils down to the cost of doing business.

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Seventy per cent of the Island's trade exports go to the U.S. and said many manufacturers arehopingto keepNAFTAthe way it is.

"If you put a 10 per cent tax on, and the dollar goes back down to where it has been in the past, there would be significant impact on businesses and could create very vulnerable sectors here on Prince Edward Island," said MacDonald.

"That would be very scary for the population of P.E.I. and employment."

Those concerns were echoed by many in the meeting, includingCavendish Farms president Robert Irving, who wants to keep NAFTA the way it is.

"Well theU.S. by far is the single biggest country that we do business with. It by far represents the majority of our business today," said Robert Irving, president of Cavendish Farms. "Our concern is that we keep NAFTA in place."

'We're going to be relatively aggressive'

But for some, the most concerning aspect is the unknown of what the Trump administration will ask for.

The president has threatened to scrap the agreement if it can't be renegotiated to his satisfactionand that has some Island manufacturers like Amalgamated Dairies Limited (ADL)on edge.

"We're dealing with an unknown with a new administration in the U.S. and we'redealing with the fact that we do not have clearobjectives of what their intent may be for these trade discussions," said ADL business development manager Chad Mann.

MacDonald saidthe province is working closely with the federal government to ensure they can negotiate a fair deal with P.E.I. in mind.

"We have to hold the federal government's feet to thefire in this and make sure we're well represented," said MacDonald. "We're going to be relatively aggressive. We're a small province and this could have somemajor effects on some of our companies."

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