U.S. President Trump’s newly imposed tariffs have small Canadian presses worried about their American sales

By Aisha Duldul

Among the slew of Canadian businesses impacted, booksellers and publishers are grappling with more questions than ever, as they face rising costs due to U.S. imposed tariffs with few clear solutions.

As of March 4, U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from Mexico to Canada, along with a ten per cent increase on imports from China. 

According to a March 5 report, the U.S. imported $1.82 billion worth of uncoated paper — some of which is used for books. Government statistics reveal 67 per cent of this paper comes from Canada, making the publishing industry particularly vulnerable to the new trade policies. 

While major publishers may be able to handle the rising costs, smaller Canadian publishers feel they are at a great disadvantage. 

Amanda Crocker — managing editor of Between the Lines, a social movement press — wrote in an editorial that the publishing industry is already skewed in favour of large corporations, making it harder for independent publishers to compete. These new tariffs could tip sales, as rising printing and export costs impact smaller presses that rely on cross-border sales. 

Eduardo Souza-Rodrigues, associate chair and professor at the University of Toronto’s department of economics, says that the tariffs will bring “a negative shock on the Canadian economy” as a whole. 

Souza-Rodrigues said these tariffs are bad for Canadians who are exporting to the U.S. and for U.S. consumers, since prices are going to surge tremendously.

Souza-Rodrigues compares the state of tariffs to the “China shock” — referring to when the country joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 and an influx of low-cost Chinese imports reshaped global trade, displacing domestic industries. He warns that a similar disruption could unfold in the publishing industry. 

He explained that with higher prices, demand for these products will decline, affecting both Canadian exporters and U.S. consumers. 

Booksellers like Rocky Mountain Books are feeling the strain of U.S. tariffs, which may threaten their ability to export books and keep their businesses afloat. 

Don Gorman, publisher at the Rocky Mountain Books, noted in an article that to help publishers with rising costs, the Canadian government has introduced an Emergency Loan Program, offering low-interest loans to businesses facing financial hardship. However, he argued that publishers need long-term, stable funding to navigate the tariffs and investment in publishing and print. 

Gorman also mentions in the blog that the tariffs aren’t just a publisher problem but a disruption that will create a domino effect throughout the entire industry. 

“This will impact authors, distributors, booksellers, and readers alike,” he wrote.