CIFFA Forwarder Magazine

19 THE FORWARDER | WINTER 2025 Moderator: Laura Dawson, Executive Director, Future Borders Coalition Panel: Daniel Kiselback, Managing Partner, Vancouver, Miller Thomson LLP, David Woodruff, Global Corporate Affairs Leader, Former Senior U.S. Congressional Advisor, Rubicon Strategic Inc., Lenny Feldman, Managing Partner, Operating Committee, Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. This session’s speakers looked at how new regulatory policies are affecting trade and customs. Reflecting how bad things have been in this space this year, one speaker referred to what we’re experiencing as a “trademic.” Moderator Laura Dawson opened the discussion, referring to this as a “trade and politics panel.” That feels apt; the two things are so closely bound together nowadays. She asked the panelists where they think we’re headed in the year ahead. Daniel Kiselbach said that, legally, “all sorts of things are going on.” With the substantial disruption caused by shifting U.S. trade policy, “swift adaptation is a key advantage right now,” he said. David Woodruff noted how diplomacy and politics “rule the day” in this challenging era. It was Lenny Feldman who used the term “trademic” to describe the period we’re in, comparing it unfavourably to the COVID pandemic. Like the pandemic, what’s going on is “unprecedented,” he said. “A lot of relationships have shifted,” noted Feldman. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seen a significant amount of change in its operations that has contributed to the widespread uncertainty being felt in the trade community. “CBP has been on the receiving end… of a lot of finger-pointing,” said Feldman. “It’s been very hard to interpret what’s coming down through the White House and federal departments,” and CBP has had to deal with the fallout. Agency staff has been engaging with officials from the Department of Commerce and the USTR “to try to finesse certain trade issues,” but trade paralysis is “definitely occurring,” he said. As at CBP, Dawson noted, other U.S. government trade-system departments and agencies have eliminated key personnel – people whose expertise would have been useful in guiding employees through the myriad changes currently being imposed upon them. Dawson said she is often asked how to “solve” President Trump. First, she said, don’t expect him to change course. “Perhaps cost effects may change his thinking,” she added, but so far, the cost impact of his tariffs has been diffuse, with businesses absorbing the extra expense. “There has not been immediate backlash” that might push Trump to alter his policies. So, finding new opportunities to make changes where possible must be the focus for parties involved in trade. “The U.S. has reconfigured the entire global trading system,” said Dawson. She asked panelists to connect the dots between what’s happening in North America and globally. Many countries are having issues with the U.S., said Woodruff. “It’s almost ‘every man for themselves.’” Furthering that sentiment, he added: “If you aren’t at the table, you’re on the menu.” Canada needs to rapidly understand that “things have changed and seriously up their game,” he said, remarking that, if it doesn’t, “global competitors will leapfrog Canada.” Kiselbach said companies involved in trade with the U.S. – and maybe exploring trade elsewhere –should be looking at their business model and making no assumptions. They should compare their current state with their desired future state, conduct a tariff sensitivity analysis and consider viable options. Feldman closed with a word of caution that may be applicable to Canada’s governments: “The squeaky wheel gets the tariffs, so watch what you say.” Top regulatory policy initiatives affecting the customs environment