How is recent US-Canada tension affecting border business? Aneesa Coomer reports from Sweet Grass:
In order to avoid international shipping rates or get their goods quicker, many Canadians travel just over the border to Sweetgrass and pick up their packages at At the Border Storage.
However, uncertain trade policies and concern over border crossings have caused business in Sweetgrass to take a dip.
Kevan Lillace travels from Calgrary at least once a month to pick up various packages he’s had shipped to the facility, including auto parts. “It saves me thousands of dollars,” he says. “Shipping is really inexpensive anywhere in America. As soon as it crosses the border, it gets expensive, and then with all the added fees from the brokerage companies”.
Auto Parts and farming equipment are popular items that come through, as shipping is cheaper and quicker in the US than internationally.
With US Customs & Border Protection reporting fewer Canadians coming into the US, At The Border Storage owner Amie Lindskog says it’s had an impact on her business, as well as other businesses in Sweetgrass.
She says, “It's slowed down a lot. I mean, everybody's been told in Canada, you know, ‘Don't shop American, shop Canadian’. There's not as much traffic, at the bar, the grocery store, we’re all feeling it.”
Uncertain trade policies have left some Canadians concerned that they will be paying extra fees. Lindskog says, “Canada put tariffs on stuff from the US, which basically, they were doing a duty at the border. So when people would bring their stuff across, it was costing them more.”
Reports of some Canadians being searched or detained at other ports of entry in the US have also deterred some Canadian visitors from making the trip, however Lindskog says none of her customers have reported any issues with border crossings at the Port of Sweetgrass.
Lillace explains his experience crossing the border several times per month: “I sure don't have any trouble at the border. They just ask me where I'm going, what I'm doing, and they just let me come on through.”
In April, Lindskog reported an estimated 35% decrease in business, but says now, things are looking up, saying “You kind of just have to let the dust settle, and then it's starting to pick up again”.
