Nearly half of Canadian businesses expected to be affected by war in Ukraine
April 5, 2022, 7:14 am

Nearly half of Canadian businesses expected to be affected by war in Ukraine

A survey shows that roughly half of Canadian firms expected to be affected by the conflict in Ukraine (File photo: Pixabay)

The Xinhua reported, results from a special business survey in March showed on Monday (4 Apr) that roughly half of Canadian firms expected to be affected by the conflict in Ukraine.

In the interviews conducted by the Bank of Canada's regional offices with the senior management of more than 100 firms selected to reflect the composition of the gross domestic product of Canada's business sector, 77 out of 152 firms anticipated that they would be affected by the conflict.

The central bank said, the most common expected impact is upward cost pressure, tied mainly to increased prices for energy and other commodities as well as further supply chain disruptions.

Canada-Flag of Canada (File photo: Shutterstock) — The central bank said, the most common expected impact is upward cost pressure, tied mainly to increased prices for energy and other commodities as well as further supply chain disruptions (File photo: Shutterstock)

The survey revealed that among the firms expecting the conflict to increase their input costs due to supply chain disruptions, many depend on goods coming from Europe or Asia. They anticipated rising transportation costs and longer delivery times, beyond those related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The Xinhua noted, according to the survey results, other businesses expected delays and reduced availability of commodities. Many firms planned to pass conflict-related cost increases on to their customers.

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.