‘Everyone is being punished’: Steinbach business says shipments turned away at U.S. border

A Manitoba business says products destined for the U.S. are in limbo due to tariffs on Chinese goods south of the border. CTV’s Jeff Keele explains.

A Manitoba business says new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are having an impact on provincial products heading south of the border.

Surfinity in Steinbach makes high-end accessories and gear for wake boats. Production Manager Shane Broesky said 75 per cent of those products are sent to the United States.

“The U.S. is a massive, massive market for us,” said Broesky.

However, Broesky said he’s being blocked from that massive market.

He started tracking shipments this week. He said he’s discovered goods he sent out are sitting in trucks in Winnipeg, after they were turned away at the U.S. border.

“Shipments weren’t moving,” he said. “They exported from Winnipeg and there is no import scan in the U.S., so we were kind of wondering what was going on.”

As part of the tariffs placed on China, President Donald Trump eliminated a duty exemption for Chinese products under $800.

An email from one of Broesky’s couriers said those changes made by Trump have disrupted the U.S. custom’s system for releasing goods. Instead of simply taking packages not in compliance of the new rules off the truck, the entire load is denied entry.

Broesky said this is not the normal practice

“There’s minimum one package in that semi-trailer from China that doesn’t have the proper documentation, everyone is being punished, and the whole semi is being sent back to Winnipeg,” he said.

Broesky reached out to the province for help. In a statement, Manitoba Trade Minister Jamie Moses said they’ve received his request.

“We’ve reached out directly to see how we can support him and other Manitoba business owners. We understand the challenges posed by the United States’ actions on trade and tariffs,” said Moses,

Reports Friday afternoon say Trump has reversed his decision on the exemption of cheaper Chinese goods for now, so that could help.

Broesky hopes this can be resolved soon and suspects this could be impacting other businesses who could have products in limbo and not even know it.

“If you can’t ship your stuff to the U.S., you can’t get paid,” said Broesky. “What does that do to business, and not only our business, but what does that do to businesses across Canada?”

CTV news reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for comment. A spokesperson said they are working on the request.