The Savia de Arce has been flowing from trees in Farm Hallacres since the 1860s in Lac Bome, which., And David Hall is a producer of Fifth Generation Arce syrup there.
“We only produced 20, 25 days a year,” he said while showing CBC news around the property and explained how his livelihood depends largely on the weather.
But now, with the possibility of a 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports that are coming, spring temperatures could soon be the slightest of their concerns.
Last year, Quebec exported around $ 368 million in Arce syrup to the US.
“Will people stop buying syrup in the United States? Probably not. Will they buy less? Probably, if there is a rate of 25 percent,” Hall said. “We are going to have meetings with buyers and see what we can do.”
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, stopped his plan to expand tariffs on Canadian imports until April 2, but it is not clear how far these new taxes will come. Earlier this month, Associated Press cited an anonymous official of the White House who said approximately 62 percent of Canada’s imports would probably still face pronounced tariffs.
More recently, a White House official told CBC News that, despite Trump’s repeated threats about the specific tariffs of the sector, they don’t really occur next month. Trump said Wednesday night that he would impose a 25 percent rate to imports of Canadian vehicles.
With most Quebec Arce syrup exports going to the US, some producers fear that a 25 percent rate can take consumers to the south of the border to alternative options.
What will happen exactly still unknown, leaving those in the Arce syrup industry waiting with breathing contained on both sides of the border.
The state of Vermont is the main producer of Arce syrup in the United States, it is a highly interconnected market with those of Quebec, since American farmers depend on supplies and equipment made in Canada.
Jim Dudd operates from Morgan, vt. Judd’s Wayeeses Farms Maple Products has been in operation for almost half a century in the kingdom of the northeast of the State. He has been taking advantage of trees since 1978.
“It is crucial because they manufacture almost everything we use,” he said, citing his dependence on Canadian manufacturing supplies.
The Vermont maple sugar manufacturers association worries that all ambivalence rates surrounding tariffs could lead to price increases in the US shelves, which stagnated growth in the industry.
The association has been in operation since 1893, which makes it one of the oldest agricultural organizations in the United States. Like Dudd, it is also found in the kingdom of Northeast, about 65 kilometers south of Stanstead, which.
“Vermont and the United States do not make Arce syrup enough to meet the needs of our domestic market,” said executive director Allison Hope.
Just this month, as the sugar season is launched, its organization has been promoting the continuous growth of the Arce syrup industry in the state on its Facebook page.
“It is important for the value of the United States industry that we have an adequate supply and with an adequate price of Canadian syrup,” said Hope.
Dudd said he is worried that the two countries lose that feeling of being friendly neighbors. The tariff battle can affect that friendship for a long time, he said.
He also said that Arce’s syrup could lose space on the shelf in stores because the price suddenly triggers 25 percent.
“That is what happened in 2008 when we lost the syrup and the price was much higher. Suddenly, it is a break in consumption,” he said.
Hall refers to a time when the global demand of sticky syrup exceeded the supply, partly because the winter cold and heavy snow slowed the flow of sap in Quebec, Maine and Vermont parts.
That, combined with the exhaustion of Canadian reserves, helped increase prices, experts said at that time.
Now, Hall said that it is a very stressful moment with all uncertainty, but he will try to concentrate on what he can control, producing as much maple as possible.
