Canadian Business Owner Blames Trade Tensions for U.S. Shop Closures
A Canadian small business owner is sounding the alarm over the cost of doing business across the border amid trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada.
Suzanne Smith, owner of Betty Be Good Boutique, shares her story:
"It’s a really sad thing to see a dream of yours die due to really no fault of your own. [...] Here we are."
Smith, after 14 years in business, was forced to close all three of her U.S. shops earlier this year. She attributes this to a combination of factors:
- Tariffs: Wholesale prices skyrocketed last year due to tariffs.
- Border Slowdowns: Traffic to her stores dropped significantly as tensions rose, lasting from weeks to months.
- NEXUS Privileges Revoked: Smith recently lost her NEXUS privileges, which facilitate travel through border crossings, after an unintended fee was charged.
"I made a mistake, and normally I'm told that would come with a warning. And now I’m completely stripped of trusted traveler privileges, and it just felt like a sucker punch on the way out the door."
Len Saunders, an immigration attorney based in Blaine for 25 years, echoes Smith's experience, advising others to be cautious when traveling across the border with products.
"Their job is to protect the United States from criminals, from terrorists, from bad people. Them catching people going out of the U.S. after they’ve made the legal entry and trying to enforce this obscure customs law, what a complete waste of time."
Smith plans to appeal her NEXUS revocation but has been told it’s difficult.