VT maple sugarmaker discusses possible tariff impacts

Yahoo

04-04-2025

EDEN, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – With likely just a few weeks left until warmer weather arrives permanently, this sugaring season presented more problems than usual for the folks at Goodrich's Maple Farm.
Owner and longtime maple sugarmaker Glenn Goodrich said Thursday afternoon that the main thing causing them issues this sugaring season is the weather, which has been colder and snowier than a typical winter in their neck of the Northeast Kingdom. But, the other factor that could become more prevalent and problematic for them as time passes: The trickle down impacts of tariff decisions made by the Trump Administration.
This week, President Trump announced a ten percent blanket tariff on all countries worldwide, and common maple trade partner Canada is among those getting taxed at a higher rate. The administration dealt a 25 percent tariff on our neighbors to the north earlier this year, and Canada has since struck back with reciprocal tariffs against the U.S.
When it comes to those effects, Goodrich said he hasn't noticed much of a change at the local level just yet. But when the impacts eventually are felt at their main sugarhouse, he thinks there'll be both negative and positive to talk about.
'100 years from now when we're reading about the four years you're talking about, what are we going to read about? Will it be good things or bad things? And we don't know until it's over,' said Goodrich.
As for the potential repercussions on the horizon, Goodrich said much of the syrup making equipment they use, and also sell to other sugarmakers, is made in Quebec. He also noted that this is normally the time of year when they're getting ready to purchase new equipment.
'Possibly, new equipment that often gets ordered in the months of April and May could become an issue,' Goodrich said. 'We just don't know yet how bad that's going to be.'
But as for the parts they get that are made in the U.S., Goodrich said those manufacturers will benefit from the tariffs, as the country could become more self-reliant.
'It's going to help those manufacturers, the U.S. based manufacturers, because they've been fighting a very unequal exchange rate for quite a long time now,' Goodrich said. 'The Canadian exchange rate is very steep.'
Furthermore, Goodrich said Canadian-produced maple syrup that's shipped into the U.S. will now cost more at grocery stores, and he's hoping that will lead to more people buying his product. But at the same time, he acknowledged this could also lead to less people buying maple syrup in general, as anticipated higher grocery bills may lead to people cutting out the nonessentials.
'Maple syrup is a product that people, most people, really enjoy,' Goodrich said. 'But to call it a necessity food, it is not. If our prices go too high, people will make other alternative choices.'
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