$700K in legal fees paid to fight U.S. tariffs

Province has no choice but to fight tariffs in court, premier says

The provincial government is racking up major legal bills as it fights tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Two cabinet orders from February and April show close to $700,000 in legal fees have been billed to the provincial government to fight tariffs on uncoated groundwood paper products. Early estimates show Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, and its parent company Kruger Inc., could be hit with $30 million in extra fees due to the tariffs.

Premier Dwight Ball says it’s expensive business, but it’s a fight the province has to engage in to help save the forestry industry.

“We understand the magnitude of this. We’re not here to sit idly by and watch jobs leave this province because someone decides they want to put out a tweet at 4 or 5 a.m.,” Ball said.

“We’re not going to stand by and let them do this, I don’t care who they are.”

Ball says the government has to rely on lawyers from the United States to fight the tariffs. Those lawyers bring specific expertise, but also increased costs.

“The legal community in our province would understand that not much of this expertise is available in the province. We have to go out and seek Canadian firms, but also engage firms in the Washington area as well,” he said.

“These decisions are poor decisions, they’re unjustified, and yet we have to push back. Getting legal advice that’s not necessarily available in this province right now is the only choice that we have.”

Ball says if a decision goes in this province’s favour over the tariffs, it’s possible money lost to the tariffs could be recouped. The legal fees, however, are likely not able to be returned.

Ball says he spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the issue, as well as to Canadian ambassador David Macnaughton to seek help in the fight.

“I think it’s an indication of what we’re seeing coming from south of the border with some of Trump’s policies and decisions that happen quite quickly, by the second it seems,” he said.

“It’s having a significant impact on provinces like ours.”

There’s no indication of how long the legal battle over the tariffs will drag on, which means there’s no idea of how high the legal bills will go.

The forestry industry in the province employs about 5,000 people. About $300 million in gross domestic product is contributed to the province from the industry annually.

The Corner Brook mill is the last of the province’s paper mills. The company laid off 12 employees as a result of the tariffs in early March.

“It’s all hands on deck when it comes to saving the forestry industry in our province,” Ball said.