How one small business is navigating Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs on Canadian goods

MAE ANDERSON

Updated Sun, Mar 9, 2025, 7:20 AM 5 min read

NEW YORK (AP) — At Fishtown Seafood, proprietor Bryan Szeliga is disquieted astir the oysters.

Szeliga, who operates 3 retail and wholesale locations successful Philadelphia and Haddonfield, N.J., sells a scope of seafood. But briny, slurpable oysters are the biggest portion of his wide business. And 60% to 70% travel from Canada.

The Trump's administration's on-again, off-again 25% tariffs connected imports from Canada — which went into effect connected Tuesday lone to beryllium suspended connected immoderate items for a period connected Thursday — are giving Szeliga whiplash. The flip-flopping making it pugnacious to program ahead. And if the tariffs bash yet spell into effect, he'll apt request to rise prices and connection his customers less choices of oysters.

“Part of the occupation of the ‘chaos and daze and awe’ attack to the dialog is you can’t really truly concern program based connected knowing what is and isn’t really going to happen,” helium said. “That’s a large problem.”

Szeliga started Fishtown Seafood 4 years agone aft different jobs successful the nutrient manufacture including cook and moving for a nonprofit. His customers see vicinity locals and different who store astatine his retail shops arsenic good arsenic edifice wholesale clients.

He sources immoderate of his U.S. products straight from food farms but for Canadian oysters helium goes done dealers.

“They’re larger companies that aggregate from each the (seafood) producers and past and past administer passim the country,” helium said.

There's besides a prime consideration.

“Canadian oysters simply person the size, spirit profile, and marque designation that our customers similar and person grown to love,” helium said.

On Tuesday, astir of his suppliers told Szeliga they'd beryllium raising prices. He lone made 1 acquisition portion the tariff was successful effect, buying immoderate “sweet petite” oysters from Prince Edward Island, to marque definite a wholesale lawsuit had capable product. He paid the full 25% markup himself and didn't walk it on to his client, eating the other cost. The suppliers' terms increases are apt to travel down present that the tariffs are postponed, but lone for a month.

Now that helium has a period reprieve, Szeliga said helium plans to set his ain inventory and enactment with his wholesale clients to program retired a paper that volition beryllium little affected by the tariffs. That mightiness mean replacing higher-priced, higher-quality oysters with home oregon lower-priced Canadian offerings.

“Now that we person a representation of what this is astir apt going to look like, let’s conscionable commencement designing retired your menus truthful that we’re prepared and it’s not implicit bedlam again," helium said. “Even if prices travel down, we cognize prices are going to travel up to X, Y, Z (when the tariffs return)." He said he'll beryllium asking his clients, "What products are going to enactment for you successful a month?”