Skip to main content
Clear icon
68Āŗ

Breweries and maple syrup producer among Vermont businesses hit by Trump's tariffs on Canada

1 / 4

AP

U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, left, and Marie-Claude Bibeau, a Canadian member of parliament representing Compton-Stanstead, talk at a roundtable event about the Trump administration's tariffs with U.S. and Canadian business owners, Tuesday, March 18, 2025 in Newport, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

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 Trumpā€™s 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



ā€œWhatā€™s 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. ā€œAnd Iā€™m even a bit a bit emotional when I say that because itā€™s 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.

ā€œAll the tariffs and the changing political atmosphere, itā€™s just made it extremely disruptive,ā€ she said. "The weather is always a big stress factor when youā€™re sugaring. We donā€™t 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.

ā€œThat 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 Trumpā€™s actions, which he said have affected what has long been a stable and valuable relationship.

ā€Thereā€™s no place for this,ā€ said Welch, who hosted the meeting. ā€œWe are neighbors. Weā€™re allies. Weā€™re 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.

ā€œEverybody 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.ā€œThis is really, really stupid. This is going to hurt Vermont.ā€

Bibeau urged the American participants to pressure Trump to reverse course.

ā€œThis 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 itā€™s harming our two countries and our people.ā€

___

Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.


Loading...

Recommended Videos