“The worst part is all the uncertainty”

Local bookstore braces for what lies ahead

The ongoing ‘tariff war’ between the United States and Canada has not hit local book shops — yet. 

But it’s what could happen that poses a real concern. 

To date, books have not been subject to the additional tax. But with U.S. President Donald Trump continuing to threaten Canada with new tariffs, and Canada vowing to hit right back, smaller operations are bracing for impact. 

“If our government goes ahead with their planned retaliatory tariffs, we will likely see an increase in prices somewhere down the line,” noted Hilary Porter, store manager at Books on Beechwood in email exchange with the Chronicle. “Since the prices of all the books we carry are set by their publishers, we don’t have any control over what the retail prices of the books will be.”

Future is cloudy

While she’s thankful that books have remained out of the line of fire to date, it remains to be seen for how long. 

Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney met with the U.S. President on May 6. That meeting could go a long way to determine the extent of the ongoing trade battle. 

Hilary says Books on Beechwood has always sought to carry “a wide variety of books by Canadian authors and books produced by Canadian publishers.”

What complicates matters, she says, is that a Canadian author could be published by an American publisher. It’s the same for a Canadian publisher who could publish an American author. 

There’s so much speculation at this point, it’s hard to know how things will play out, Hilary says. 

“The worst part is all the uncertainty. Until a decision is actually made about whether to put tariffs into effect or not, we don’t really know what the effects on our business will be.”

One thing she is certain about is the support from her local customers. 

“Despite the fact we can’t give them any real answers about what will happen, they’ve been so supportive,” she said. 

Some have made it a point to avoid items made or published in the U.S. Others have focused on ‘buying Canadian’ as best they can. 

“Either way, though, we’re always happy to help them find what they’re looking for.”