Osee Podolsky, general manager at Podolski Honey Farms, says the vast majority of honey produced at the family-run business in Ethelbert, Man., is shipped to customers across the United States.
Now he's worried that the farm his grandfather started more than seven decades ago could risk bankruptcy after the U.S. slapped 50 per cent tariffs on $28 billion worth of Canadian goods — including natural honey — just after midnight on Saturday.
"It's non-viable for us to ship to our usual customers that buy honey from us," said Podolsky, stressing that about 90 per cent of the Ethelbert company's honey is sold to the U.S.
"Effectively, we're out of business. We can try to find more Canadian market share, but if many other beekeepers are trying to do the same, it may be a race to the bottom," he said.
Washington's new tariffs came down early Saturday after Canadian and American negotiators couldn't reach an agreement following days of trade talks.
At a Saturday morning news conference, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the two neighbouring nations had been moving toward a "mutually beneficial agreement" until the U.S. later proposed new terms that were "uneconomic, unfair, and undermined the net benefits to Canada."
The prime minister said U.S. negotiators raised issues with Canada's French language protections — including bilingual labeling requirements on products sold in Canada — and even floated restrictions on Canada's ability to make trade deals with other countries, among other last-minute demands.
Premiers back Carney as trade war with U.S. escalates
Read Mark Carney's full speech after trade talks with the U.S. collapsed
Carney said the U.S. had "asked for too much and offered too little" and Canada is "walking away from a bad deal" as a result.
"There were some things we wouldn't do. We were not prepared to compromise Canada’s sovereignty or undermine our key industries," the prime minister said.
Canada will fight back with retaliatory dollar-for-dollar tariffs expected to come into effect after Labour Day, Carney said.
Podolsky said small businesses like his family's honey farm are essentially "collateral damage" in the cross-border tariff battle, with some entrepreneurs left feeling "helpless" right now.
Annual summer honey production typically wraps up around August, with staff quickly buzzing to package the golden liquid into barrels and ship them off to customers.
But the new tariffs will sting the company's bottom line this year, as sales usually kick off starting in September and last into the fall.
