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Jewelry maker Cindy Baldassi says she is expecting to lose roughly half of her customers as the trade war between Canada and the United States heats up.
“I have to start looking on how I can increase my sales elsewhere or my income,” said Baldassi in a phone interview on Sunday from her home in Calgary.
Baldassi’s online shop, CindyLouWho2, is among the businesses across Canada that were hit by American tariffs on Saturday after trade talks between Canada and the United States failed the night before.
The 50 per cent tariff affects Canadian exports worth more than $20 billion, including various gold, silver and imitation jewelry.
Baldassi said that 75 per cent of buyers purchasing her sterling silver, stone and dinosaur fossil jewelry were American.
She’s stressed, she said, but feels Prime Minister Mark Carney did good by pulling away from negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and pledging to retaliate.
She said Trump is a bully and has created a lot of uncertainty.
“We should fight back,” she said, “even though that is actually going to be very difficult on a lot of Canadians.”
Carney told a news conference Saturday that he called off trade talks Friday night because the Americans offered a “bad deal” and were pushing terms he found unacceptable.
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Ottawa will match Washington’s tariffs dollar-for-dollar beginning next month, Carney said, targeting sectors such as steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics.
When asked Saturday if Canada was in a trade war with its southern neighbour, he said, “Yes, that’s obvious.”
Baldassi suspended her sales to the United States over the weekend and is now scrambling to update prices on her online shop, and reaching out to American clients to notify them of the price changes.
“For example, if I have a $35 pair of earrings, then that’s another $17.50 that has to be added for American customers only,” she said, noting the uncertainty of what’s ahead is frustrating.
“I’ve already gone through the five stages of grief. I’m at acceptance already.”
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce said Saturday the trade war will affect nearly 100,000 jobs across the country, but it stands firm with Carney’s decision.
“No deal is better than a bad deal,” it said in a statement.
“It is vital that we continue to stand as a united front and strengthen our economy at home while pursuing opportunities abroad.”
Canada’s Opposition on Sunday called on Carney to release more details on the negotiations. Canada-U.S. relations critic Shuvaloy Majumdar added that his party still supports the government’s decision to reject the deal.
Baldassi said she would also like to know more about what Americans were offering.
She said calls from Canadian leaders to support local businesses have slightly helped her. She has received orders for her jewelry from Canadians in the last two days.
“I hope that we will see more of that because there are a lot of businesses that will be suffering.”
Carney said the U.S. government was trying to restrict Canada’s ability to make deals with other trading partners, and they tried to restrict Canada’s protections for the French language.
Some premiers said after a virtual meeting with Carney on Saturday that they were united, and expressed fierce support for the prime minister’s decision.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Trump cannot be trusted while Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew called Trump out of touch. Both have called on Canadians to stick together as Team Canada and encouraged people to buy local.
Other premiers have expressed disappointment with the collapse of trade talks.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said that people should not cheer for Canada’s looming retaliatory measures.
“We shouldn’t be cheering if our farmers have to pay 50 per cent more for all the equipment that they need to produce our food,” Smith told a call-in radio show that aired in Alberta on Saturday.
“That’s not a success for us. It’s something we should be lamenting.”
She said she hoped negotiators would soon resume talks.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, in a statement, said his government supports Carney. But he also noted the battle over tariffs won’t be easy, saying “all tariffs hurt real businesses and kill real jobs, on both sides of the border.”
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