Local book retailers are calling for the federal government to reconsider a proposed 25 per cent tariff on book imports from the United States. The latest move in an escalating trade war between Canada and the US, the possible tariff could kneecap bookstores and museums leading up to the summer tourism season.
Revelstoke Museum and Archives (RMA) earns 15 to 20 per cent of its annual gift shop revenue from book sales, including its own published books and some from local authors. A portion of this revenue stream pays salaries and keeps the front desk staffed. While all books published by the museum are printed in Canada and exempt from the potential tariff most of the other books the museum stocks would be hit.
“Losing 25 per cent of that percentage will have a huge impact,” Laura VanZant, RMA assistant curator said. She recently reached out to the federal government to provide feedback regarding the proposed tariff and is urging others to do the same.
Still, the museum is trying to plan for if and when the 25 per cent tariff on book imports from the United States comes into effect Wednesday, April 2.
VanZant reached out to the RMA board and asked if she could take the usual bi-monthly budget for book purchases and instead bulk buy everything needed for book sales until the end of October. Once approved, VanZant reached out to the museum’s distributor and heard how they’re also trying to prepare for the tariff impact.
“I said, ‘please cancel all our current orders with you. We’re putting this big one in but then you won’t hear from us until this is over’. And she totally understands, she sent us a letter that they’ve sent to Members of Parliament while they do their own troubleshooting.”
VanZant has already spent time getting as much in the RMA gift shop sourced from local and Canadian vendors in preparation for tariffs and growing trade war struggles, but the proposed tariff on books came as a shock.
“Yes, there are a lot of Canadian authors. Yes we carry as many of them as we can. But those books are printed or warehoused and shipped from the States. There’s no way around these tariffs for a lot of those books.”
Stacy Batchelor, co-owner and manager of Fable Book Parlour explained it’s been eye-opening seeing what in the store’s catalog would be impacted.
“I was surprised how many books are routed one way or another through the States. So, it’s been a bit of a fact finding mission for us to find what is truly only based in Canada that we can carry.”
Similar to RMA, Fable has focused on sourcing other goods from local and Canadian vendors including stickers, artwork and more. Another strategy Fable is exploring in case of tariffs is pushing more focus on its used book sales and exchange program. Batchelor and her team are exploring a mass purchase similar to RMA’s strategy, but she noted that suppliers are already starting to struggle with a rush from various book retailers to get orders in. Batchelor hopes the tightknit independent bookstore community will support each other by sharing and moving stock around if possible.
“I hope it won’t come to that, but we’ve had that before, other stores are looking for a book and they can see in this large database that we have a copy and they ask if we can hold it because the customer is traveling our way anyway. It might be a way we sort of dodge that supply bottleneck.”
While VanZant understands the need for tariff response, she argues a 25 per cent tariff on books would have a bigger impact on Canadian businesses, authors and citizens.
“I don’t love the concept of putting a tariff on people’s ability to access education and their ability to access wellness resources, that’s not great.”
There’s one strategy both Batchelor and VanZant agree could help Revelstoke’s museums, library and local book store if the 25 per cent tariff takes effect; the unwavering support from the community.
“Even when things are uncertain like this, we can feel fairly confident [at RMA] that we’ll be okay. Even if we see a loss of revenue because of the tariffs on books, our community always supports us and always rallies behind us,” VanZant said.
Revelstoke Mountaineer reached out to Okanagan Regional Library for comment, but they were unable to reply by print.
If you want to send in feedback regarding proposed tariffs, head to the Government of Canada website for the Consultations on Canada’s Response to United States Tariffs on Canadian Goods: Comment Submission Form. The 25 per cent book tariff code is 4901.99.00.
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