A Toronto steel business owner says U.S. steel tariffs forced her company to downsize and stop selling to American customers [1].
This situation highlights the direct impact of trade volatility on small-to-medium enterprises that rely on cross-border commerce between Canada and the U.S. When tariffs fluctuate or increase, the resulting market uncertainty can lead to permanent structural changes in local industries.
Kimberly Turner-Briscoe said the trade environment has caused significant personal and professional distress. She said she has not slept properly in two years [1] due to the uncertainty surrounding the industry.
According to Turner-Briscoe, the tariffs imposed during the Trump administration created a market where demand from American customers dropped significantly [1]. This decline in sales eventually left her company with no choice but to shrink its operations to survive the economic pressure [1].
While there have been discussions regarding tariff adjustments, Turner-Briscoe said that reducing the tariff to 25 percent [1] would not be sufficient to fix the damage. She said the primary need for business owners in her position is stability, rather than a marginal reduction in costs.
Turner-Briscoe said the current climate of unpredictability makes it nearly impossible to plan for long-term growth or reinvest in her workforce [1]. The loss of the U.S. market represents a significant blow to the revenue potential of Toronto-based steel providers who previously viewed the American market as a primary growth engine [1].
“I haven’t slept properly in two years”
The experience of Turner-Briscoe illustrates a broader trend where trade tariffs act as non-tariff barriers by creating an environment of risk. For small businesses, the cost of the tariff itself is often less damaging than the inability to forecast future costs, which discourages investment and forces a pivot away from international markets toward smaller, domestic ones.
