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Trump’s trade war impacts paddlers

In response to President Trump’s 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum and 25% tariff on Canadian steel, our federal government has responded with targeted tariffs intended to sway key US politicians. One of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs, starting on July 1st, is a 10% tariff on US-made canoes and kayaks.

A lot of canoes and kayaks sold in Canada are American made. A lot! Expect prices to rise 10% in stores after July 1st. Retailers have little choice but to pass a cost like that onto the consumer.

But, that will not happen at Undercurrents! We buy almost zero US-made boats, so there is nothing to be tariffed. I wish we could say we foresaw this trade war, but we didn’t. When we launched Undercurrents almost 20 years ago, we decided we wanted to carry as much Canadian-sourced product as possible while ensuring we always offer the best quality and value products available. It’s our “Canada First” policy, and it’s as close to “Buy Local” as one can get in the paddling industry.

Here are examples of how our Canada First policy is working out at Undercurrents.

  • Our top 2 canoe brands, representing over 95% of sales are Canadian: Clipper & Esquif
  • Our top 3 kayak brands, representing over 90% of sales are Canadian: Delta, Boreal Designs & Riot
  • Our top 2 SUP brands, representing over 95% of sales are Canada-sourced: BluWave & RedPaddleCo
  • Our largest lifejacket brand, representing over 75% of sales is Canadian (and the only company to still manufacture their lifejackets in Canada): Salus
  • Our #2 paddle brand is Canadian: H2O
  • And the list goes on …

We support Canadian companies because they support all of us; they pay taxes in Canada, employ Canadians, and support other Canadian companies by purchasing supplies and products in Canada. We are normally quiet about our preference for Canadian suppliers (now isn’t that a quintessentially Canadian attitude). But this trade war, and its impact on paddlers, makes us want to shout about our “Canada First” policy as loudly as we can! Just don’t think we are bragging, because that would not be very Canadian of us.

With Canada Day just around the corner, we want to say “thank you to all our amazing customers; we appreciate your support of Undercurrents and our Canadian suppliers!” Happy Canada Day! ?[su_box box_color=”#ffffff”][smartslider3 slider=”10″][/su_box]