Less than a week into Canada's reciprocal 25 per cent tariffs on almost $30 billion in products imported from the U.S., local businesses are navigating unchartered territory.

"The biggest challenge is dealing with so much uncertainty and unknown," said Paul Chambers, founder and principal buyer at Davidson Chambers, a home goods store in Sidney. 

After spending six weeks travelling and carefully selecting decor, Chambers worried he would have to "start all over again" due to his reliance on U.S.-based vendors. With limited wholesale options in Canada, sourcing products internationally is essential for him to stay competitive.

But despite many of his products being American, he soon learned that the Canadian tariffs only apply to goods manufactured in the U.S. – not goods manufactured outside the U.S. and then imported into it. Luckily for him, this meant many products that he thought would be tariffed were not.

Still, challenges remain. Chambers' store imports three food lines from the U.S. that are now too expensive. He'll also no longer be able to do an additional department expansion since the key items were U.S.-made.

Another issue is that customers are much less likely to buy U.S. products he has already purchased.

"My biggest message to shoppers is please support your small local retailer, we need you more now than ever. Please don't refuse to buy products we already have in our stores that were made in the U.S., which we paid for and ordered months ago. That only hurts our business," Chambers said. 

He added that small local retailers can't remove all the products made in the U.S. off their sales floor due to the cost.

Hospitality consultant says tariffs haven't 'hit home yet' 

Effective March 13, the government of Canada imposed 25 per cent tariffs on $29.8 billion in products imported from the U.S. These will remain in place until the U.S. eliminates its tariffs against Canadian steel and aluminum products.

Though some food, grocery and liquor items imported from the U.S. are affected, a business management consultant in the hospitality industry said he hasn't seen any huge impacts on his clients yet.

"I don't think it has really hit home yet, but that being said, I am not overly worried until these stand for longer than a couple of weeks. With the U.S. government being so flippy-floppy, you never know when Trump will change his mind," said Shawn Soole of Soole Hospitality Concepts. 

In terms of pivoting, Soole said it isn't needed with liquor as of yet as licensees can still order U.S. products from the warehouse that were pulled from BCLS shelves. He called the pulling of liquor from the shelves a "political move" that won't affect the local hospitality industry until the stock in the warehouse is depleted and the tariff is applied to the new order coming from the U.S.

More harm is being generated by uncertainty at this point than the harm of immediate costs, said Kirn Bawa, general manager of Sizzling Tandoor, which has three locations in Greater Victoria.

"Right now, not enough has been implemented to see those immediate costs skyrocket but there are definitely impacts such as seeing a decline in traffic, lots of fear and the pressure of having to plan to pivot in addition to the regular planning it already takes to operate a restaurant."

She added that the scenario felt "parallel" to the uncertainty experienced during COVID-19.

Most small businesses support retaliatory tariffs: survey

Other businesses have faced more immediate effects, such as Luna Collective whose owner shared with Victoria News last week that she was shocked to see on an order placed in January thanks to the tariffs.

Despite hardships and uncertainty, some surveys show that most Canadian small businesses support retaliatory tariffs.

A February survey from the (CFIB) found that of 2,500 independent businesses, almost half (47 per cent) said they import goods from the U.S.

The same survey also found that 75 per cent of business owners support retaliatory tariffs, but also want additional measures implemented, including tax relief, buy-local programs and removal of interprovincial trade barriers.

Chambers said while he "fully supports" the government placing a reciprocal tariff on U.S.-made products to send a message, it has "created a great deal of challenges."

"I hope that this will end soon in a peaceful manner and Canada keeps the pride we currently have for living in this great country."