US-Canada trade war further taxes small businesses as costs rise during the Iran war

NEW YORK (AP) — A trade war between the United States and Canada is making it more difficult and expensive for small businesses in the economically entwined countries to operate, according to business owners caught in the crossfire. Canada imposed reciprocal tariffs on about $20 billion (CA$27.6 billion) worth of U.S. goods last week after President Donald Trump placed import taxes on Canadian goods worth the same amount. In response to Canada’s action, Trump said the U.S. also would ban imports of wine, whiskey, selected motorcycles and the dairy ingredient whey from Canada. The tariffs so far involve about 5.5% of the neighboring nations’ bilateral trade in goods. Analysts say the overall economic impact therefore will be muted.

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Scoop News DeskUS-Canada · Published Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 4:20 AM UTCUpdated Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 4:39 AM UTC

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Although the majority of her company’s sales are within the U.S., Sotos counts musicians around the world as customers. At Jasper Hill Farm, an artisan cheesemaker in Greensboro, Vermont, co-founder Mateo Kehler said Trump’s opening salvo produced an immediate effect: canceled holiday orders from wholesale customers in Canada, whose border is only about 40 miles away.