Wide-sweeping retaliatory tariffs now in place on U.S. goods coming into Canada have two Newfoundland businesses wondering how it could affect them— while actively taking steps to ensure impacts are only minor.
Alana Rideout, sales manager at Maple Valley Flooring in Corner Brook, said the business is still navigating what the true impact could be. Some flooring products, like planks, sheet vinyl and carpet backing, face tariffs between 25 and 50 per cent.
“A lot of raw materials for that stuff comes from the U.S., so we are expecting that to affect [things],” Rideout told CBC News on Sept. 3, before the tariffs came into effect.
“It’s just going to be, kind of, rolling with the punches I guess, to see what products are going to be affected the most.”
Canada introduced dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on the United States on Tuesday, tariffing $27.8 billion of goods the U.S. had already imposed tariffs on against Canada.
Carney warns of tough times ahead in video message as retaliatory tariffs kick in
Rideout said most of their flooring product comes from Quebec, but manufacturers and suppliers the store deals with have actively been seeking out suppliers in Canadian and European markets for alternatives to U.S. product— something that has also translated to customers.
“We have a few people that will come in and their very first thing that they say to us after we have our initial conversation is ‘I want it to be a Canadian product. I don’t want it to be from America,” she said.
That can present a challenge, Rideout added, as products manufactured in Canada can still use components from the United States.
That was the problem Constanza Safatle, CEO of Newbornlander, faced. The St. John’s-based baby clothing company sews its clothes locally, but the fabric is sourced from the U.S.
These N.L. businesses are switching to Canadian alternatives as retaliatory tariffs on U.S. kick in
Safatle said she realized the impact it would have on business a year ago, and worked to change to a Canadian supplier.
“My first goal is, like, change the supplier now. And that is exactly what we did,” Safatle said. “After a year, here we are … Right now, it’s kind of, ‘see?’ Like, this is the big difference.”
Back in Corner Brook, Rideout said Maple Valley Flooring will continue to navigate whatever business and tariff uncertainties arise next.
“Nobody wants to have to pay more for anything. And of course, we don’t want to have to pass that on if we don’t have to. So hopefully we’ll be able to keep everything as even keel as we can.”
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