ND business owners brace for Canadian tariffs

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - President Donald Trump said Canadian tariffs will take effect on Aug. 1, and state business owners are bracing for the impact.

Patrick Hart, owner of the construction company Anytime Works in Bismarck, said that his business relies on Canadian imports.

The president did put a freeze on Canadian tariffs in February, but they are set to resume in about a week and a half.

Hart said that despite the pause, costs have still increased significantly as his business partners are preparing for the tariffs.

Hart said he has no choice but to pass on additional costs to his customers.

“The big book of tariffs is changing, almost more rapidly than they can print it out and understand it. I think that the fact of not having stability in the market is causing unease, and as we talk about the booming economy in North Dakota, that’s going to hurt us,” said Hart.

Canada is North Dakota’s top trading partner, accounting for 25% of the state’s exports in agriculture, energy and machinery.

The new tariffs will be 35% on goods coming from Canada, a significant hike from the original 25%.

Hart feels that, as a border state that frequently trades with Canada, the tariffs are concerning.

“When there’s 55 cents, you might not think that’s much of an increase, but when it’s 55 cents on one item, 60 cents on another, and 25 on a gallon of gas, all those really add up, and that death by a thousand cuts is really going to make an impact to the pocketbook of North Dakotans,” said Hart.

Justin Sherlock is a soybean farmer from Dazey, N.D., and president of the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association. He said that farmers are used to volatility and risk, from weather to market influences, but tariffs introduce an entirely new challenge.

“You can never eliminate risk completely, but the trade issues throw an entire new level of volatility that you can’t plan for,” said Sherlock.

Sherlock said that while the need to resolve trade issues with other countries is understandable, tariffs are the wrong solution.

“We don’t believe tariffs are the way to do it. We believe in negotiating, trying to find other solutions through diplomacy, through negotiations,” said Sherlock.

While Sherlock and Hart brace for what is expected, they hope the president repeats what he has done in the past and reverses course on his announced tariffs.