Late in August last year, Julia Hallman and her spouse embarked on a road trip from their residence in Massachusetts to visit one of their Canadian suppliers at Fromagerie La Station in Quebec. Hallman enjoyed the view of the grazing cows at the farmstead in Compton, which would later provide the milk for one of her shop’s popular cheeses, Alfred le Fermier. She is committed to continuing to purchase this cheese for her shop not only because her customers adore it but also because she considers the family as her friends.
“We aim to assist and financially support them,” stated Hallman, the owner of Formaggio Kitchen, a specialty cheese and artisan goods store in Cambridge.
Hallman is just one of many business owners in Canada and the U.S. awaiting news on whether the Trump administration will enforce substantial new tariffs on various Canadian goods. Entrepreneurs in the United States express concerns that enduring 50% tariffs would compel them to make a difficult decision they have been trying to avoid for over a year and a half: severing ties with Canadian suppliers with whom they have had longstanding, mutually beneficial relationships.
Imported products, ranging from cheeses to chocolates to spices and spreads, constitute about half of the inventory at Formaggio Kitchen, with Canadian products making up approximately 15% of these items.
Hallman has dealt with tariffs on Canadian dairy previously by sacrificing profits, increasing prices for customers, or both. While she desires to continue operating in this manner, she acknowledges that a 50% rate would eventually become untenable.
“There will come a time when we must make some tough decisions,” Hallman remarked, recounting her journey spanning thousands of kilometers to multiple locations in Quebec.
“The dilemma is that we don’t want to compromise the friendships we have established. However, we also have a limit on what we can handle as a business and what our customers are willing to pay.”
Similar to Hallman, Sarah Paxton is apprehensive that the new tariff rate will compel her to part ways with the suppliers her business has relied on in Ontario and Quebec for decades. One of these suppliers, Amisco, offered to share the burden of tariffs until a specified date. Paxton mentioned she could sustain the new fees temporarily but not indefinitely.
“We will attempt to persist if feasible. Nonetheless, a 50% rate is quite substantial,” said Paxton, the co-owner of LaDIFF, a modern furniture store in Richmond, Virginia.
The latest series of U.S. tariffs are scheduled to impact $28 billion worth of Canadian goods shortly after midnight, unless the two governments reach a last-minute agreement.
Canadian entrepreneurs are anxious about potential tariffs significantly impacting their profits if American buyers like Hallman and Paxton – who ultimately foot the bill when bringing Canadian goods across the border – are forced to seek alternatives.
Representatives from Canada and the U.S. convened on Monday for what was anticipated to be the final ministerial-level meeting. The Prime Minister’s office confirmed to CBC News that Mark Carney engaged in discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump that day regarding the “ongoing trade negotiations.”
As Hallman awaited to see if the looming threat would materialize, she stocked her shop’s basement “cheese cave” with as many non-perishable items as possible before the deadline. She emphasized that the cost of tariffs is not just financial but also deeply emotional.
“We are quite determined,” Hallman asserted. “We intentionally import these products because we love them. We do not want someone to essentially dictate that we cannot bring them in by imposing such a severe tariff.”
“It sends a very clear and resounding message.”