‘We need answers’: Despite tariff pause, Manitoba biz impacted by trade war

There may be a pause on the threatened tariffs between the United States and Canada, but some Manitoba businesses are still feeling the pinch of the looming trade war.

Shane Broesky of Surfinity, a Steinbach-based water sports manufacturer, told Global Winnipeg his company’s shipments continue to get held up at the border.

“We manufacturer higher end goods for the wake, boat, and water sports worlds — specifically with wakesurfing,” he said.

“We have a lot of patented products that we manufacture and we ship — not only around the world, but 75 per cent of our business we ship to the U.S. to end consumers, but also boat dealers as well. It’s a huge chunk of our business.”

That business, however, has been mostly halted since Tuesday, when trucks shipping Surfinity’s goods to the U.S. were turned away at the border.

Broesky said the company’s shipments are picked up daily by companies like FedEx and UPS, then consolidated with other shipments in Winnipeg and carried into the U.S. in semi-trucks.

“All of our shipments have just been stuck — it just says it’s on its way, and there’s no additional information about what’s happening with these packages,” he said.

After a bit of sleuthing, Broesky learned that the trucks had been sent back to Winnipeg for reasons out of his control. A contact who works in the receiving warehouse of an American shipping company told him if a truck contains a package from China that doesn’t have the proper customs documentation, the entire truck will be turned away from the border.

In the past, Broesky said, improperly documented packages would just be quarantined by U.S. border officials and wouldn’t affect entire shipments of other goods.

“We do a lot of wholesale shipping … we also manufacture for some of the top boat brands around the world,” Broesky said.

“If we can’t ship our goods down to them, then they can’t sell them, and we can’t get paid. We can’t pay our expenses and whatnot.

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“(Business) are in a huge crunch right now with the tariffs hanging over our heads. There’s a lot of anxiety … and we just need answers.”

In a statement Friday, Manitoba trade minister Jamie Moses’ office said it has reached out to Broesky and other impacted business owners.

“We understand the challenges posed by the United States’ actions on trade and tariffs, and that’s why we launched the tariff hotline. We want business owners to know that we are here, working hard on their behalf, and we also encourage them to reach out to the federal government for additional support when it comes to border services.”