Following the breakdown of U.S.-Canada negotiations on Aug. 22, the United States imposed a 50% tariff under Section 338 on products including live orchids, fresh-cut orchids and other flowers, dormant bulbs, unrooted cuttings and slips, and other propagative plant material.
“The disruption affects U.S. growers, retailers and distributors that rely on Canadian flowers and young plants. These supply chains have been built over decades and cannot be replaced quickly without reduced availability and higher costs,” a Canadian Nursery Landscape Association LinkedIn post reads.
The affected horticultural imports represent an estimated $158 million in annual trade, according to AmericanHort.
The effects extend beyond the border crossing. Canadian growers who rely on U.S. customers are suddenly faced with a dramatically higher cost, while U.S. importers, wholesalers and garden centers must decide how much of that increase they can absorb and how much must be passed along to consumers.
Read more to learn why American growers face uncertainty.