{"id":15557,"date":"2025-12-07T00:35:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T03:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/12\/07\/u-s-tariffs-hurting-new-brunswick-craft-businesses\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T00:35:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T03:35:22","slug":"u-s-tariffs-hurting-new-brunswick-craft-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/12\/07\/u-s-tariffs-hurting-new-brunswick-craft-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. tariffs hurting New Brunswick craft businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>New BrunswickSome small business owners in New Brunswick say tariffs imposed by the United States have increased material costs, affected product quality and complicated shipping procedures.Crafters say increased costs affect product prices, quality and reachRhythm Rathi  \u00b7 CBC News  \u00b7 Posted: Dec 06, 2025 4:47 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Lincoln Bell, 14, owns Rothesay-based Sweetie Bees. (Ian Curran\/CBC)Rothesay\u2019s Lincoln Bell says sourcing ingredients amidst tariffs imposed by the United States has become a strain on his honey and beeswax product business.And he\u2019s not alone.Bell, who owns Sweetie Bees, is just one of many small business owners who say they\u2019ve had to adapt to higher costs.He said his ingredient supplier is an American operation, but their higher prices have him looking for a cheaper source.\u201d[My supplier was] acquired by an American company, forcing them to now raise their prices to almost double, sometimes triple, for some of the key ingredients I need to make my products,\u201d he said.Failing to find a cheaper option may lead to an increase in the cost of the finished product, he said, making it more expensive for his customers.\u201dI\u2019ve been trying to keep my prices down the same, but I am definitely looking at the option that if I can\u2019t start getting them cheaper again, there is always a chance that prices may increase.\u201dKaren Larter says she\u2019s started to source Canadian ingredients to sustain her products amidst the tariff situation. (Ian Curran\/CBC)Karen Larter owns Lavender Moon Farm in Malden, which also sells organic products. She echoed Bell\u2019s concerns as her ingredient supplier was based in California.\u201dAs a small business owner, it\u2019s tough,\u201d Larter said, who has been farming for six years.\u201dI\u2019ve had to outsource, find another location for my cocoa butter and my coconut oil, so those for sure have been impacting me with the tariffs,\u201d she said.After some research, Larter was able to find a cheaper Toronto-based alternative. She encourages businesses to shop and support local in these times.She said switching to a Canadian supplier was an important decision for her.\u201dWhen a small business owner like myself sees something go up 90 per cent, it\u2019s really hard to keep creating the product and selling it \u2026 and people have a certain price point that they\u2019re not willing to surpass.\u201dRaneem Hammam, left, and Razan Hammam make jewelry using stones. (Ian Curran\/CBC)Razan Hammam, who owns a small jewelry business, said she\u2019s had to use some cheaper spacer beads to keep cost low, but that change compromises her product\u2019s quality.\u201dIt makes me feel sad because I like people getting our stuff, and liking them, and them looking good,\u201d said Hammam. \u201cSo when we have to do that, it\u2019s not that good.\u201dOromocto woodcarver Gary Crosby said he\u2019s stopped shipping his products to the United States  due to tariff-related issues.\u201dIt\u2019s just too much paperwork and there\u2019s too much confusion at the border, it may never get to the customer,\u201d he said.Woodcarver Gary Crosby says he began exploring other markets more when the United States imposed tariffs on his products. (Ian Curran\/CBC)He\u2019s already found other markets to cover his lost businesses, he said.\u201dI would love to go back to the States and send it back to our customers there, but unfortunately \u2026 until this is over, it is what it is.\u201d ABOUT THE AUTHORRhythm Rathi is a reporter with CBC New Brunswick in Moncton. He was born and raised in India, and attended journalism school in Ontario. Send your story tips to rhythm.rathi@cbc.ca With files from Ian Curran<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New BrunswickSome small business owners in New Brunswick say tariffs imposed by the United States have increased material costs, affected product quality and complicated shipping procedures.Crafters say increased costs affect product prices, quality and reachRhythm Rathi \u00b7 CBC News \u00b7 Posted: Dec 06, 2025 4:47 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,125,1],"tags":[116,124],"class_list":["post-15557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indigenous","category-new-brunswick","category-uncategorized","tag-indigenous","tag-new-brunswick"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}