(The Center Square) – After the U.S. imposed a 50% tariff on a wide swath of Canadian imports last week, the Washington city of Blaine – with about 6,500 residents and two border crossings – sees it as another bump in the road.
“I don’t believe our businesses are going to be marking down August of 2026 as the season that broke them or made them,” said Nikola Berzenji, vice president of the Blaine Chamber of Commerce. “This has been an ongoing journey.”
The tariff, which took effect Aug. 22, applies to about $20 billion worth of Canadian consumer and industrial goods from dairy to electronics to building materials like plywood. In response, Canada plans to impose dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs starting Sept. 8.
According to the official White House statement on the measures, President Donald Trump ordered the tariffs “to offset the burden or disadvantage on U.S. commerce from Canada’s discrimination or unreasonable and unequal imposition on U.S. alcoholic beverages, dairy, and motor vehicles.”
For Washington, which shares a nearly 700-mile border with British Columbia, the stakes are higher than for most states. The average tariff rate on Canadian imports has increased from 5.92% to 7.66%, and the state’s Office of Financial Management predicts Washington companies importing $1 million in Canadian goods will see an average additional tariff cost of about $17,400.
As for exports, Canada was Washington’s second-largest export market last year at about $7 billion, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. Nearly $11 billion of that came from Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
In Blaine and other northern border towns like Point Roberts, a high percentage of dual citizens and Canadian-owned businesses has created a bi-national community that’s navigating unique challenges.
Canadian visitors have historically accounted for a large share of their business and sales tax revenue, but B.C. vehicle crossings into northwest Washington fell 35% in 2025 compared to the year before, according to the Whatcom Council of Governments.
Last year, Blaine faced a $368,000 general fund deficit tied to this issue – the city saw about 20% fewer crossings in 2025 than in 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
“Canada is not a rival to be worn down. It is our closest economic partner, our neighbor, and a market built over decades of shared rules and shared prosperity,” said Lori Otto Punke, president of the Washington Council on International Trade, in a statement this week.
“WCIT urges the administration to return to the negotiating table and to work with Canada toward a durable agreement.”
So far in Blaine, Berzenji has yet to hear of major setbacks from price increases, canceled orders or supply chain issues related to the new tariffs.
Some of the costs are expected to show up first for consumers – state modeling points to rising prices on clothing, furniture, food, and gas and electricity, with used car prices projected to climb as much as 25% over two years.
U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02), whose district includes Whatcom County and Blaine, released an official statement addressing the implementation.
“These new tariffs aren’t leverage over Canada. They’re yet another way that the Trump administration is raising your prices and sabotaging the American economy,” said Larsen.
“Across over a hundred meetings and conversations with people I represent in Northwest Washington, I heard how a stable economic relationship with Canada and Mexico is critical to keeping local businesses afloat, lowering prices and creating good-paying jobs.”
State economists have been modeling this kind of scenario for months. A report from the state Office of Financial Management, released as part of its “Crosswinds Ahead” analysis, projected that a broad U.S.-Canada tariff and retaliation scenario could put more than 30,000 Washington jobs at risk, concentrated in crop production, aircraft manufacturing and related industries, and could cost the state’s general fund $2.2 billion in cumulative revenue by 2029.
At this point, the Office of Financial Management says its economists don’t have enough information to estimate the full impacts of the new tariffs.
“We do not yet know the picture of Canada’s response and its impact on the average tariffs imposed by all countries on US exports,” a spokesperson wrote in an email, “and therefore don’t have enough information to estimate the broader impacts in Washington.”
Meanwhile, Blaine has experienced a long-running series of challenges across its business sectors since 2019, mostly due to disruptions from the pandemic and U.S.-Canada tensions. But it’s not all doom and gloom, Berzenji said.
This past Fourth of July celebration was one of the largest Blaine has put on, and many businesses are doing well.
“In every community, there are businesses that are struggling,” Berzenji said. “We are a city and a community that is still growing.”
The Blaine Chamber of Commerce is focused on finding new ways to invigorate commercial business and rely less on dollars from Canada, including a coupon book for local consumers and advanced educational seminars for business owners.
Berzenji said he’d like to see shortened wait times at the border, but he’s not holding his breath. He expects friction between the Trump administration and the Government of Canada to continue – and that Blaine will remain resilient.
“We don’t believe the current administration, the next administration, or whatever is going to happen in the next four, six, 10 years is going to see Blaine completely fall apart,” he said. We are excited for what’s coming, and we have a lot of plans.”