Richi on Wheels in Box Springs is one furniture store impacted by hefty tariffs imposed by the federal government

By Tiffany Goodwein

Furniture stores faced with 295 per cent tariff

May 21, 2021 | 5:38 PM

MEDICINE HAT,AB- Rishi Dhawan has been a part of the family wholesale furniture business for as long as he can remember. His family’s business imports furniture and supplies to stores across Canada. The business became such a hit that just three years ago he opened stores across Alberta, including one in Medicine Hat. But now he’s not sure how much longer he can keep prices the same after the Canada Border Services Agency imposed a tariff on imported furniture goods from China and Vietnam this month.

“It increased from 10 per cent which is what it used to be prior to May 5, to a staggering 295 per cent. So what that means is overnight, if you had any of those containers you were bringing in from overseas, you are now subject to pay 295 per cent on those,” he said

At the time the tariff was imposed, Dhawan said he had roughly $300,000 worth of goods on its way.

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“Now I am forced with a choice, either I forfeit all the money from for those containers or I pay over a million dollars for bringing those containers to Canada,” he said

With little time to pivot, Dhawan is one of many retailers calling on the federal government for a grace period, so that shipping containers in transport prior to May 5 don’t have to be subjected to the hefty tax.

“The impact of it when it is felt overnight. It is not easy to kind of change your entire business overnight as well, and that’s the plea that we have for the government more so than anything is to understand that, as much as we can respect any decision that the government takes, the government needs to respect that it needs to be in due time,” he said.

According to the CBSA, the tariffs were imposed immediately on May 5 as a preliminary measure after an investigation into alleged dumping.

The Alberta Business Council said the tariffs will have a significant impact on consumers going forward.

“It is going to dramatically increase the cost of those goods. The tariffs that we are seeing being imposed at least the preliminary ones are in the range of 300 per cent for Chinese imports and around 100 per cent for those in Vietnam and so that is going to have a tremendous increase and it is going to affect consumers trying to buy those goods and retailers trying to sell those goods,” stated Mike Holden of the Business Council of Alberta.

Dhawan said furniture businesses in the same situation are left with no choice but to pass the expense to customers, or to absorb the costs themselves. The tariffs are just another blow in an industry that has already had to balance high demand with shipping delays brought on by the pandemic.

As for now, Dhawan is pleading for the government to understand the impacts, as he works to source products from other markets so that he can keep selling furniture at a reasonable rate.