President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian products, along with the escalating trade war and rhetoric between the two nations, is starting to squeeze some small businesses in Vermont. Concerns for those small businesses include a decline in merchandise shipments to Canadian customers, a drop off in Canadian tourism and higher prices from imported products. “I would rather take the position of being proactive and not just thinking about absorbing the problem,” said Bill Butler, a co-owner of Artisans Hand Craft Gallery in Montpelier. Ryan Christiansen, president and head distiller at Caledonia Spirits, giving a tour in Montpelier, VT. Courtesy: Ryan Christianse | Caledonia Spirits
President Donald Trump’s tariff rhetoric against Canada has only started to heat up, but Vermont’s small businesses are already feeling some pain.
A shipment of spirits, ordered by the Société des alcools du