NEWPORT, Vt. ā Business owners from both sides of the U.S.-Canada border gathered Tuesday in Vermont to share how the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs have affected their industries.
President Donald Trumpās tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum and repeated comments that Canada should become the 51st state have infuriated Canadians, and many are boycotting American goods in response.
Recommended Videos
āWhatās going on in Canada is without precedent. The threat is over and above tariffs right now,ā said Marie-Claude Bibeau, a Canadian member of parliament representing Compton-Stanstead. āAnd Iām even a bit a bit emotional when I say that because itās a threat against our sovereignty.ā
The 18 participants in the roundtable discussion included breweries, a maple syrup producer, a furniture company, an electrical company and a ski resort.
Donna Young of Judd's Wayeeses Farms in Morgan said most of the equipment she uses to produce maple products comes from Canada.
āAll the tariffs and the changing political atmosphere, itās just made it extremely disruptive,ā she said. "The weather is always a big stress factor when youāre sugaring. We donāt need this extra stress on top of it.ā
Bob Montgomery, of Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro, said the tariff on the aluminum used to make beer cans will ultimately drive up the cost of beer.
āThat 25% increase on the tariff will simply just get passed along to us,ā he said.
Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, said he is disturbed by Trumpās actions, which he said have affected what has long been a stable and valuable relationship.
āThereās no place for this,ā said Welch, who hosted the meeting. āWe are neighbors. Weāre allies. Weāre friends. And I want to keep it that way.ā
Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. In Vermont, trade with Canada accounted for more than a third of the state's exports and two-thirds of its imports last year. According to Welch, one in four of the state's businesses rely on trade with Canada, and they cannot afford to absorb a 25% hike on imports.
āEverybody knows, except apparently President Trump, that the people who pay the tariffs are the people who buy the products,ā Welch said in a Senate floor speech last week.āThis is really, really stupid. This is going to hurt Vermont.ā
Bibeau urged the American participants to pressure Trump to reverse course.
āThis is not the right thing to do, not for your economy and not for ours either,ā she said. "And I think we have to keep working together and to make the demonstration that itās harming our two countries and our people.ā
___
Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.