The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, Jan. 21, edition that business leaders here in Canada are keeping cool in the face of the threat of tariffs. The Globe's Nicolas Van Praet writes that they are not, however, waiting around to see what actions Washington will take. Ben Whitney is trying to keep his family business, Armo Tool, on course as he stares into the unknown. Armo employs 200 people and does 25 per cent of its $50-million in annual sales in the U.S. Armo designs and builds assembly lines and other automated solutions for manufacturers such as Magna International and 3M. Armo quotes for work every day and a big change in the Canada-U.S. exchange rate or tariff environment immediately affects its ability to win new business. Mr. Whitney says the fallout from a nightmare scenario of a 25-per-cent tariff would be softened by the exchange rate and limit any layoffs he might have to do. However, any countermeasures Canada initiates would also raise his costs for materials. Mr. Whitney says he is prioritized finishing projects for U.S. customers in recent weeks "so that we could just get some stuff out the door." He says his sales staff have got their "foot to the floor" trying to pad the backlog with new work.