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Impact of New Tariff Policies
Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff policies are impacting Canadian wool producers. Specifically, these rules force farmers to rethink decades-old trade relationships with the United States. Consequently, many producers are now seeking alternative markets in Europe and Asia. Furthermore, others are cutting ties with American partners entirely.
Tariffs Disrupt Cross-Border Trade
The U.S. recently imposed 50 percent tariffs on greasy wool imports. In addition, these tariffs affect certain finished wool products. Notably, greasy wool is raw, unwashed fleece shorn directly from sheep. In fact, it contains natural lanolin, hay, and barn debris.
Canada’s Processing Capacity
Historically, Canadian producers relied heavily on American processing facilities. For instance, U.S. plants scour and process raw fleece into usable textiles. However, Canada currently lacks comparable industrial-scale processing capacity.
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A Ruptured Trade Relationship
Matthew Rowe serves as chair of the Canadian Wool Council. Specifically, he describes the situation as a deep rupture in cross-border relations. In fact, this trade relationship took generations to build. “Our biggest single market is kind of closed to us now,” Rowe stated. Furthermore, he noted that cross-border supply chains no longer make economic sense. Consequently, heavy tariffs have disrupted long-standing commercial ties.
Finding Alternative Global Markets
In response, Canadian producers are actively redirecting raw wool shipments. For instance, they are sending fleece to China and the Czech Republic. Ultimately, this strategic shift helps them sidestep growing U.S. trade barriers. However, Rowe warns that this autumn could prove especially damaging. Indeed, producers earn most of their annual profit during the fall season. Meanwhile, winter clothing demand typically drives this critical revenue surge.
Ottawa Yarn Shop Owner Takes a Personal Stand
Judy Enright Smith, owner of the Wabi Sabi yarn shop in Ottawa, says the trade dispute has moved well beyond commerce for her. When her American supplier last visited, she greeted him wearing an “Elbows Up” T-shirt. “At first, it was business,” she said. “Now, it’s personal.”
Enright Smith says she no longer considers it morally acceptable to stock American yarn labels, despite their popularity with some customers. She is now sourcing more products from Europe and actively seeking Canadian alternatives. When her U.S. supplier contacts her this year to make a sale, she plans to decline.
She also pushed back against a message her American supplier sent to Canadian clients at the start of the trade war, warning them they would be “hurting the little guy” if they stopped buying. Enright Smith read that message as a self-serving attempt to shift blame onto Canadians for damage caused by Trump’s trade policies.
One Canadian Mill Largely Insulated from the Fallout
New Brunswick’s Briggs and Little, founded in 1857 and one of Canada’s oldest operating wool mills, has managed to avoid the worst of the tariff impact. The mill sources its wool from a cooperative in Carleton Place, Ontario, and processes everything on-site, keeping its supply chain entirely within Canada.
However, even Briggs and Little faces some exposure. Office manager Leah Little says the mill uses certain American-made machinery parts and materials that are now subject to tariffs. “We do hope this mess is resolved before we need to replace any of our machinery parts that are not available in Canada,” she said. Rowe describes the mill as a rare exception in the Canadian wool industry and a strong option for consumers wanting to buy local.
Producers Push for a Rebuilt Domestic Wool Industry
Anna Hunter, a shepherd and wool mill owner at Long Way Homestead in Ste. Genevieve, Manitoba, stopped shipping to the United States last year after Trump cancelled the de minimis exemption, which had previously allowed imports valued under US$800 to enter duty-free. Hunter is also the author of The True Cost of Wool.
She says the tariff blow landed on an industry already weakened by the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption of global supply chains. “All of a sudden, Canadian wool wasn’t moving anywhere than the United States. It was sitting in warehouses and because there was no resilience in how we sold, or where we sold our wool, there was no market,” she said.
Hunter currently processes around 5,000 pounds of wool per year, a fraction of what her sheep produce. She envisions a restructured Canadian wool industry built around decentralized regional processing facilities capable of handling different wool varieties and supporting a stronger domestic textile sector.
Achieving that vision, she argues, requires both government and consumers to stop treating wool as a mere byproduct of sheep farming and to recognize it as a commodity worth investing in independently. She also urges Canadian knitters to check labels and choose domestic products. “We’re going to have to really wrestle with how our clothing system has become completely disconnected from agriculture and from our own economy,” she said.
Rowe says the Canadian Wool Council is advocating for expanded domestic mill capacity and new supply chains to reduce dependence on the United States. Still, he acknowledges that unwinding ties forged over generations carries a real emotional cost for those in the industry. “We don’t want all our wool in one bag, to modify the expression,” he said. “We need to spread around our opportunities, but I think that doesn’t lessen the hurt, and even the sense of betrayal, that many of the people in our value chain are feeling.”
