The trade war between Canada and the U.S. is threatening to slow the flow of a famed Canadian export — maple syrup — and the equipment used to manufacture what’s often dubbed liquid gold.
“We wouldn’t be able to make maple syrup without Canada. They’re the kings,” Vermont maple farmer Jim Judd told Global News. “Everything we own is from Canada.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are threatening to stifle production and upend decades of cross-border co-operation in the industry.
Canada produces more than 70 per cent of the world’s maple syrup.
Quebec is the industry’s mecca, while neighbouring Vermont is the American capital.
The markets are highly integrated, with U.S. farmers relying heavily on Canadian manufacturing products and maple syrup itself.
“The U.S. doesn’t make enough of that product domestically,” said Vermont’s Maple Sugar Makers’ Association executive director Allison Hope.
“We rely on an influx of Canadian syrup to blend with American syrup.”
But the state has seen considerable growth, with maple production increasing nearly 500 per cent in the last 20 years, according to Hope.
“It’s a mutually beneficial relationship. We get a lot out of that partnership with Canadians and we want to keep it that way. Tariffs get in the way,” she said.
It’s one more example of how Trump’s economic policies are derailing trade between Canada and the U.S., particularly in border communities.
“I could not believe we would do something like that,” Judd said. “Particular [to] a friendly country like Canada.”
He and his partner, Donna Young, run Judd’s Wayeeses Farms in Morgan, Vt., near the Quebec border, and depend entirely on their northern neighbour for manufacturing and storage equipment.
Tariffs on steel and aluminum — along with threatened across-the-board levies next month — are threatening to disrupt production at their fourth-generation family farm.
“We have a possible three- to four-week season, so we can’t mess around. If I need something. I need it yesterday,” Judd said.
The couple say they have already experienced delays at the border when it comes to receiving parts shipped from Canada.
“There’s enough uncertainty with the weather. You don’t need to add uncertainty about the politics,” Young added.
She was one of several businesspeople who addressed a cross-border roundtable in Newport, Vt., on Tuesday organized by Democratic Vermont Sen. Peter Welch.
Welch has been one of the most outspoken U.S. lawmakers against the tariffs, slamming them as “appalling.”
The Judd’s Wayeeses Farms producers are also outraged, particularly over Trump’s repeated threat to make Canada the 51st state.
“There’s some mornings when I wake up and go, ‘Really? Is this really happening?’ and I think Canadians must be thinking the same thing,” Young said.
The prolonged uncertainty is threatening to hamper the maple season, and could lead to price increases and shortages on American grocery shelves, Hope says.
“U.S. consumers are used to going to any market, any larger chain in the U.S. and seeing pure maple syrup on the shelves,” she said.
“We don’t want to lose what we’ve started to build up.”
Tariffs on maple products and manufacturing equipment could also deal a significant blow to Canadian businesses.
Canada’s maple syrup industry is a billion-dollar business with roughly $376 million worth of exports going to the U.S. in 2023.
“It’s weird because you never think of [maple syrup] as being political. But suddenly we’re caught up in it,” Young said.