A Canadian small business owner says she has been forced to shut down all three of her U.S. stores after 14 years, citing the rising costs and falling customer traffic tied to trade tensions between Canada and the United States.
Suzanne Smith, owner of Betty Be Good Boutique, closed her last U.S. location in Blaine, Washington, earlier this year. Smith said her business had survived the pandemic and other setbacks, but that the latest strain proved impossible to overcome. She said wholesale prices began rising sharply last year because of tariffs, while cross-border shopping traffic slowed from weeks-long dips to months-long declines.
According to Smith, American customers were squeezed by rising costs, while Canadian shoppers increasingly stopped crossing the border to spend money at her stores. She said the combined effect steadily eroded her business until it could no longer keep up financially.
Lost Border Privileges Add to the Strain
Smith said her difficulties were compounded when she lost her NEXUS trusted traveler privileges, which allow for expedited border crossings. She said this happened after she failed to pay a required fee while traveling to pick up goods in the United States, a mistake she said she did not realize she was making at the time.
Smith said she had expected a warning for the error rather than having her privileges revoked outright. She said she plans to appeal the decision but has been told the process is difficult.
Immigration Lawyer Says Case Isn’t Isolated
Len Saunders, an immigration attorney who has practiced in Blaine for 25 years, said he has seen other clients run into similar border enforcement issues. He described the customs rule being enforced as an obscure one, and said he considered the effort spent catching people who had already made legal entry into the U.S. before leaving to be a poor use of resources.
Saunders said he sympathizes with people who believed they were following the rules correctly. He urged Canadians and others in the Vancouver area traveling to Whatcom County to pick up goods to make sure they declare items and pay the required fee before crossing back.
Smith’s case comes amid broader reports of Canadian small business owners facing higher costs and reduced cross-border traffic linked to ongoing trade tensions between the two countries.
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