WINDSOR, Ontario ¨C Windsor-based Fastsigns, ?a Canadian company that designs and installs custom business signs and graphics, last year endured its toughest year since the pandemic as orders from its core automotive clients dried up.
A new project launch this year brought some relief, but the company says customers are demanding longer payment terms, placing smaller orders, and bargaining harder on prices due to uncertainty tied to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is up for review this year.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he could scrap the trilateral trade deal he negotiated during his first term, calling it no longer relevant to the United States. U.S. Trade ?Representative Jamieson Greer has described negotiations with Canada on the agreement ¡ª which exempts most Canadian goods from U.S. levies ¡ª as challenging. The impact of the deal ¡ª and its uncertain future ¡ª ?is being most ?acutely felt in places like Windsor, which is among the Canadian cities most dependent on the U.S. for its fortunes and reflects the broader ?unease facing the country¡¯s economy. Its economy contracted 0.6% in the fourth quarter.
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