Alex Rodrigues

Because, yes, the U.S. put tariffs on Canada, but then Canada put retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. So Alex in Canada, Shirley in the U.S., they are caught in the middle of a trade war. They've built up trust, which is a really valuable thing in business. But now it might become impossible for them to work together to import and export to each other.

Hello and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Amanda Aronchik. And I'm Sarah Gonzalez. First, President Trump announced tariffs. Then there were retaliatory tariffs and so-called reciprocal tariffs for countries around the world. But now those have been mostly paused. Just paused. This is still an escalating trade war. And Canada has had a little bit of a head start here.

Hello and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Amanda Aronchik. And I'm Sarah Gonzalez. First, President Trump announced tariffs. Then there were retaliatory tariffs and so-called reciprocal tariffs for countries around the world. But now those have been mostly paused. Just paused. This is still an escalating trade war. And Canada has had a little bit of a head start here.

Hello and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Amanda Aronchik. And I'm Sarah Gonzalez. First, President Trump announced tariffs. Then there were retaliatory tariffs and so-called reciprocal tariffs for countries around the world. But now those have been mostly paused. Just paused. This is still an escalating trade war. And Canada has had a little bit of a head start here.

They started figuring out how to deal with the tariffs a couple months ago.

They started figuring out how to deal with the tariffs a couple months ago.

They started figuring out how to deal with the tariffs a couple months ago.

And Alex Rodrigues, she owns the Nut Hut, right? Not the only walnuts and hazelnuts hut. She wants to offer more than just that. So she imports her nuts locally. From all over the world. She gets her almonds from Australia, her cashews from Indonesia, macadamia nuts from Kenya. But importing from the U.S.?

And Alex Rodrigues, she owns the Nut Hut, right? Not the only walnuts and hazelnuts hut. She wants to offer more than just that. So she imports her nuts locally. From all over the world. She gets her almonds from Australia, her cashews from Indonesia, macadamia nuts from Kenya. But importing from the U.S.?

And Alex Rodrigues, she owns the Nut Hut, right? Not the only walnuts and hazelnuts hut. She wants to offer more than just that. So she imports her nuts locally. From all over the world. She gets her almonds from Australia, her cashews from Indonesia, macadamia nuts from Kenya. But importing from the U.S.?

So in January, hours after he was inaugurated, President Trump said that he would soon put tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. And Alex took notice right away. At first, it was a 25% tariff on all goods coming into the U.S. Then that was paused. Then it was started. Then there was an exemption for things covered by the trade deal USMCA, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

So in January, hours after he was inaugurated, President Trump said that he would soon put tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. And Alex took notice right away. At first, it was a 25% tariff on all goods coming into the U.S. Then that was paused. Then it was started. Then there was an exemption for things covered by the trade deal USMCA, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

So in January, hours after he was inaugurated, President Trump said that he would soon put tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. And Alex took notice right away. At first, it was a 25% tariff on all goods coming into the U.S. Then that was paused. Then it was started. Then there was an exemption for things covered by the trade deal USMCA, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

You know, the new NAFTA.

You know, the new NAFTA.

You know, the new NAFTA.

They put the Canada first. Amanda is Canadian. Thank you for that clarification. Canada goes first. It has been chaos. But luckily, whenever Alex has questions about importing stuff into Canada, she has an expert that she can turn to.

They put the Canada first. Amanda is Canadian. Thank you for that clarification. Canada goes first. It has been chaos. But luckily, whenever Alex has questions about importing stuff into Canada, she has an expert that she can turn to.

They put the Canada first. Amanda is Canadian. Thank you for that clarification. Canada goes first. It has been chaos. But luckily, whenever Alex has questions about importing stuff into Canada, she has an expert that she can turn to.

So Ray's company is in Ontario. He deals with clients who are importing into Canada, mostly from the U.S.,