Calgary jewelry maker expects to lose half her customers to new U.S. tariffs
A 50 per cent U.S. tariff on Canadian jewelry and metals exports, worth more than $20 billion, took effect Saturday after cross-border trade talks collapsed.
Why it matters
Alberta small businesses that rely on U.S. buyers are facing immediate revenue losses as the Canada-U.S. trade dispute escalates.
Calgary jewelry maker Cindy Baldassi says she expects to lose about half her customers after the United States imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian exports including gold, silver and imitation jewelry. The tariff took effect Saturday, following the breakdown of trade talks between Canada and the U.S. the night before.
Baldassi, who runs the online shop CindyLouWho2 from her Calgary home, said roughly 75 per cent of buyers for her sterling silver, stone and dinosaur-fossil jewelry are American. She said she now needs to find new markets or other sources of income. The tariffs affect more than $20 billion worth of Canadian exports nationwide.
The tariffs came as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to reconvene Parliament. In a letter sent Sunday, Poilievre asked Carney to release the text of a proposed U.S. trade deal he rejected and to explain how retaliatory measures would affect the cost of groceries and gas, as well as jobs in the steel, aluminum, lumber and auto sectors.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.