This week marks one year since U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods, and some Quebec businesses say they’ve been hit pretty hard.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on Friday that refunds will not be immediately issued for tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court.
According to Brandon Lord, a senior official in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s trade office, the department hopes to implement a refund system in 45 days.
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At Signé Local in the Eaton Centre Montreal, one owner said focusing on locally made Quebec products has helped the business navigate the pressure of tariffs.
“People are more conscious about the benefits of buying local,” said Dawei Ding, CEO and president of Signé Local. “So we had a boost in marketing. Our numbers are great. We’re happy.”
Signé Local sells about 300 locally branded Quebec products, including candles, soaps and self-care items.
For the business owner, the tariff war hasn’t had much of an effect on pricing, despite increases in certain commodities like chocolate and coffee.
He said he tries to fight the “myth” that locally made products are more expensive.
“We work with our suppliers to make sure that we try to keep the price to the lowest possible,” said Ding.
Ding emphasized Quebecers’ increased efforts to shop locally after the tariffs.
“They’re looking for ways to support the local economy,” said Ding. “We’re talking about tariff war. They’re saying, how can I do my part?”
For Rita Leistner, a Torontonian currently living in Montreal, her purchasing habits have drastically changed shifted in response to U.S. tariffs.
“I pretty much stopped buying American goods as much as possible. I stopped travelling to the U.S.,” said Leistner, who used to live in New York.
“I’m apprehensive about being in the country for reasons beyond tariffs,” Leistner added.
For other business owners like Myriam Belzile-Maguire, who runs the Canadian business Maguire Shoes, the past year has felt like a rollercoaster of emotions. The shoe company has stores in Montreal and Toronto, and has expanded into the United States.
Belzile-Maguire was forced to change her company’s entire shipping method to the U.S. after the de minimis exemption ended.
“So we were mainly not being custom for most of the things we were sending in the U.S. And overnight at the end of August, suddenly we had to pay custom tariff and we were not able to ship directly from Canada to our U.S. customer,” said Belzile-Maguire.
Now, the business takes U.S. orders online, and its Canadian warehouse ships them in bulk, paying both tariffs and duties on the products.
The tariffs have forced the shoe business to raise prices by five to 10 dollars depending on the product.
“I feel because we’re transparent we’re kind of showing customers that we’re not trying to overcharge them. They really appreciate it,” said Belzile-Maguire, referring to a message from Maguire Shoes informing customers about the situation.
The company has particularly felt the impact of the U.S. tariffs as it renovates its store in New York City.
“I’m doing a lot of custom furniture with local Montreal vendors,” said Belzile-Maguire. “And then I didn’t realize that I would have to pay 20 per cent extra for the furniture I’m making here in Canada. Before I used to cross the border duty-free.”
While Quebec businesses continue to navigate the U.S. trade war, Ding emphasized the importance of taking pride in selling local goods.
“One of the funny changes we did last year is we put a Quebec flag in each of our stores, just to show we’re proudly made here,” Ding said.
