The nonprofit organizations say the bison supply chain is already fragile and tariffs may impact the agricultural industry.
Both organizations are calling on officials to avoid any further disruptions and return to the duty-free trade for live bison that has sustained the sector of agriculture for decades and worked to restore the bison species to North America.
The NBA and CBA say the young industry uses a mutually beneficial relationship between the two nations, and live Canadian bison cross the border at an unprecedented rate. The organizations report that nearly half of all bison processed in the U.S. in 2024 were imported from Canada, supporting a nearly $1 billion industry and a growing sector of American agriculture.
“The U.S. has long been the sole importer of live Canadian bison, which are finished, or go direct to slaughter here, and are crucial to supplying our domestic markets with healthy, regeneratively raised …