‘Owners are afraid’: New tariffs could cut sales in half for some Canadian businesses
America’s latest trade threat would break Canada’s CUSMA shield
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threat → cut → shield
With only hours to spare for Canada to strike a trade deal with the United States, a wide swath of Canadian businesses are on edge — with some expecting as much as half of their sales could disappear if the punishing new levies take hold.
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levies → spare → hold
The latest round of U.S. tariffs are set to take effect Wednesday unless a last-minute deal is reached.
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deal → set → effect
They would layer on top of existing U.S. trade sanctions, adding another duty to $28-billion worth of Canadian products including electronics, dairy, alcohol, wood and more.
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They → layer → electronics
For some Canadian businesses, their products wouldn’t just become more expensive for American customers.
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products → become → customers
Instead, the price would be so high their products would never even make it across the border, some business owners say.
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owners → make → border
Todd Stafford, president of Brockville, Ont.-based Northern Cables, says his company counts on U.S. buyers for about half of its sales.
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company → say → sales
The company manufactures copper and aluminum power cables for commercial and industrial use.
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company → manufacture → use
“We ship 50 per cent of our production to the U.S.
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We → ship → U.S.
We have seven warehouses in the U.S.,” he told CBC News on Monday.
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he → have → Monday
“At the announced level of 50 per cent tariffs, we would lose all of that business immediately.”
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we → announce → business
Stafford says if the new U.S. tariffs kick in on Wednesday, "we can’t have a single tractor-trailer cross the border.
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trailer → say → border
"We’re hoping cooler heads prevail, or maybe there'll be some kind of time extension
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heads → hop → extension
," he added.
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he → add → ?
The company, which has 320 employees in Brockville, has avoided layoffs for the last 26 years.
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which → have → years
Stafford said he worries the tariffs will compound problems at home, like slowing condo construction and competition from cheaper Chinese-made products.
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tariffs → say → products
“We wouldn’t [lose] 50 per cent of the people,” he said.
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he → lose → people
Shield of CUSMA won't apply
From auto parts to lumber, steel and aluminum, U.S. President Donald Trump has targeted key sectors of Canada’s economy since his second term started in January 2025.
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term → apply → January
However, the vast majority of cross-border trade has been exempt under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), a trade deal Trump formally signed in 2020.
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Trump → sign → 2020
This has significantly blunted the trade war's impact on Canada’s economy.
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This → blunt → economy
The new tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday would change that, impacting about five per cent of the overall trade Canada does with the U.S.
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Canada → set → U.S.
The list of affected Canadian exports is long, including items like hockey sticks, certain flowers and antiques.
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list → affect → sticks
Energy, potash and critical minerals are set to remain exempt.
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Energy → set → ?
“To say business owners are afraid is an understatement,” Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) vice-president of national affairs Jasmin Guénette said on Monday.
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Guénette → say → Monday
“You cannot lose 50 per cent of your revenue without feeling the impact.”
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You → lose → impact
“CUSMA has been providing a shield for many sectors and many businesses,” Guénette added.
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Guénette → provide → sectors
Cindy Baldassi runs a Calgary-based company called CindyLouWho2 that sells handmade jewelry.
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that → run → jewelry
Baldassi said she is worried she might lose half of her business.
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she → say → business
"I have now shut down U.S. shipping on my website and my Etsy shop,” she said on Monday.
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she → shut → Monday
“I’m going to spend the rest of the day adding 50 per cent to a substantial amount of my items.”
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I → go → items
Baldassi’s business was briefly hit by earlier rounds of tariffs until she was able to keep shipping tariff-free to the U.S. by proving her products were CUSMA-compliant.
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products → hit → U.S.
That option doesn't exist this time.
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option → exist → ?
She said she's been able to increase marketing in Canada over the past year and sell more domestically, but about three-quarters of customers to her Etsy shop were American.
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quarters → say → shop
She notes her one-person business doesn't have a marketing team or big budget to help expand.
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business → note → team
"We often have to really scrape to get what traffic we can to our websites.
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we → have → websites
And I don't have a lot of control over where Google tends to show me or where Etsy wants to show me," Baldassi said.
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Baldassi → have → me
Guénette said pursuing customers in non-U.S. markets is a common theme these days.
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pursuing → say → markets
“Many businesses in Canada don’t feel the U.S. is a reliable trade partner anymore,” he said.
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he → feel → Canada
Businesses already burned by tariff threat
Even if the new swath of tariffs don't come to pass, some business leaders say they've already had an impact.
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they → burn → impact
Randy Williams, director of sales and marketing for Monterey Textiles, says his business has longstanding operations on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.
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business → say → border
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
