Bellingham Shoppers Dubious Of US-Canada Trade War

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Canada and the United States agreed Monday to postpone a budding tariff war between the two nations for 30 days.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau replied the same day by imposing 25% tariffs on a range of U.S. products.

Few places illustrate the economic connections between the United States and Canada better than the crowded retail outlets of Bellingham, about 20 minutes south of the border with British Columbia.

A study published by Western Washington University's Border Policy Research Institute in 2020 found that up to half the cars parked outside Bellingham stores like Ross, Costco, Walmart, and Sierra Trading Post had Canadian license plates. At least 12% of Whatcom County's retail sales-taxes were paid by Canadian shoppers, the study estimated.

On Sunday, the day after the tariffs were announced, the busy parking lot outside the Bellingham Trader Joe's hosted a mix of Washington and British Columbia license plates.

KUOW spoke with five shoppers outside the store. Though hardly a scientific sample, none of the shoppers had anything favorable to say about the tariffs that were slated to hit consumers in both countries on Feb. 1 and now might do so on March 3.

University of British Columbia-Okanagan students Darvesh Dhillon and Logan Clarke stopped for some American snacks on their way home from singing in an a capella competition in Tacoma.