First, the United States blocked cheap imports from entering the country duty-free, which made a mess of her sales to American customers.
“That was extremely disruptive,” she said.
Then last month, after trade talks between the United States and Canada collapsed, the Trump administration imposed punishing new tariffs on a wide and seemingly arbitrary list of items that included wine, dairy products and hockey sticks. Among them were several ingredients in Ms. Alyea’s sprinkles, like cellulose gum and glucose.
Some 2,500 miles away from Sweetapolita’s headquarters, in Santa Cruz, Calif., Zach Davis suddenly wondered: “Are sprinkles on the list?”
The question was not a trifling one. Mr. Davis is an owner of the Penny Ice Creamery, which buys thousands of dollars’ worth of Sweetapolita’s medleys of colorful sprinkles every year.
In the escalating trade war between the United States and Canada, both countries seem intent on hurting the other just enough to make a point. On Tuesday, President Trump moved to ban a subset of Canadian products after Canada imposed its own retaliatory duties on an array of American exports.
Small companies are caught in the cross hairs. Many businesses are rushing to untangle the byzantine roster of tariffs that both countries have issued to determine whether they are affected.
