US tariffs threaten to hike cost of hockey gear [Video]

BRANTFORD, ON — Calls from the U.S. to Roustan Hockey headquarters in Canada in recent weeks have been anything but routine, as bulk orders of name-brand sticks have suddenly become complicated conversations.

“These customers want to know: When their orders ship, will they have to pay an additional 25% tariff? And we respond by saying, ‘Well, right now we don’t know, so they postpone their order or cancel their order because they want to know before they order what the cost is going to be,” said Graeme Roustan, who owns the Canadian company that makes and sells more than 100,000 hockey sticks annually to the U.S. market.

The prospect of 25% tariffsby President Donald Trump on Canadian imports, currently paused for some goods but facing full implementation on Wednesday, has …