Indie bookselling industry worries retaliatory tariffs could be deathblow

With the Canada-U.S. tariff war just days away, people who sell books in Canada say they could be inadvertent victims in the trade war.

People in one part of Canada’s economy and culture are afraid this could mean a struggle for survival for them.

The irony here is that it wouldn’t be Donald Trump to deliver the deathblow to the bookselling industry.

Instead it would be Canada’s own government as the country strikes back at Trump.

Janet Hoy, owner of the independent book store The City and The City Books on Ottawa Street North in Hamilton, says this is a scary time for booksellers like her.

“A lot of us will close,” she said, “that’s sort of like the bottom line.”

Donald Trump is promising a 25 per cent tariff on most goods from Canada, possibly as of this Wednesday.

That’s not the problem here.

Instead, they’re worried that Canada may retaliate against Trump on Wednesday with a 25 per cent tariff on books coming into Canada.

“To have 25 per cent put on a hardcover book – like this is $39, this is going to be like maybe over $50 – that’s out of reach for most buyers,” said Hoy. “It’s not right that they should have to spend that much money on a book.”

Not only that, but a Canadian tariff could hurt Canadian writers.

Many of their books are published in the United States and would be tariffed.

Hoy says this is about more than economics, it’s about Canada’s culture.

“Literacy is important, books are important – they’re cultural, they bring a strong cultural message to people and you know we won’t be able to have as many diverse books that we carry,” she said.

The Canadian Independent Booksellers’ Association is asking Prime Minister Mark Carney to exclude books from the upcoming tariffs immediately or face possible “devastating consequences for Canadian readers, our businesses, and our cultural landscape.”

But in a hopeful sign, the Federal Department of Finance told CHCH News, “books are part of the list of goods” proposed for counter tariffs and “the government welcomes stakeholders’ views on the proposed tariff measures” before they’re imposed.

The department also says it has a “remission process, which would provide relief from these tariffs, on a case-by-case basis, to address exceptional circumstances.”

In this tariff battle, womenswear retailer Orangetree Boutique in Hamilton is focused on tariffs too, telling customers it won’t purchase store merchandise from the U.S. until a fair agreement is in place.

John Weide, co-owner of Orangetree Boutique, said “their leaders have to come together and resolve what they can about the tariffs and free trade.”

But booksellers remain worried about being sideswiped by their own government.

“I don’t see any American that will suffer because of this tariff,” said Hoy. “Who knows if we’ll make it – indie stores are really nervous right now, whether we’ll survive if we [do] get tariffed.”

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