Pause on tariffs gives Sask. small businesses time to prepare, pivot

Many Canadian business owners breathed a sigh of relief Monday after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced U.S. President Donald Trump will hold off on tariffs for at least 30 days.

Talk of a trade war isn't over, but the delay gives businesses much-needed breathing room to prepare and pivot for any potential new trade measures.

A Saskatoon businessman says he's finding ways to pivot. Mike Erman, owner of Glitch Gifts and Novelties in Saskatoon, said he imports around 60 to 75 per cent of his products from the U.S. Now he's on the hunt for Canadian alternatives.

"A lot of stuff that we used to be able to get here, you can't anymore, but you can in the States. I would like to continue with some of that, but we definitely want to bump up more Canadian and maybe even get bigger into the U.K. brands," he said on CBC's The 306 radio show.

He said he's already asking customers what they'd like to see from the Canadian market.

"It's going to be tricky. There's some brands that probably are irreplaceable, but I think I will also be able to discover a tonne of new Canadian brands, and I think that's going to be a good shift for us anyway, regardless of the trade war," Erman said.

For now, he's assuming that tariffs from south of the border are still coming. He's hoping people can support Canadian-made products.

"I still think we just need to start supplying or supporting more Canadian products anyway. I think we need to diversify and maybe not be so reliant on a trading partner that's that's going to be unpredictable," he said.

Bruce Kozak is the owner of The Funky Gifter, a general store that sells American goods in Regina. He said he makes frequent trips to the U.S. to get his products.

He spoke to CBC's The 306 host Theresa Kliem from Minnesota. He said prices south of the border had already started to go up.

"I'd say in the last week or two, prices have jumped on many items in a regular grocery, convenience or big box retailer," he said.

Kozak said there's not much he can do to adjust to the rising prices that he faces.

"For us, there's just no way around it. We could cut costs as much as possible, but you can only cut so much before you start to say, wow, what's the point of being in business?"

He said in the end, the customer will have to bear the brunt of the tariffs.