Though proposed 25% tariffs on some Canadian products have been delayed, businesses that rely on cross-border trade have had a chaotic few weeks trying to understand the implications of President Donald Trump’s trade wars. 

“It’s a mess,” said Johanna Dominguez, owner of Put a Plant On It, a plant and gift shop in Buffalo, New York. “I try not to get too freaked out each time a new announcement comes out because it seems to be like, ‘One minute, oh, he’s implementing them, next minute he’s not,’ so it’s just, honestly, just trying to wait and see.”

The Buffalo-Niagara Falls border crossing is among the busiest in the nation. It handles roughly 15% of incoming trucks from Canada and 20% of incoming personal vehicles. However, the Canadian Broadcasting Company recently reported that the number of drivers crossing the U.S. and Canadian border dropped last month to levels not seen since the peak COVID-19 era. 

Johanna Dominguez said she and many of her neighbors in Buffalo do not see Canada as a separate country. “We’ll hop over the border and have dinner,” she said. “It’s just another town.”

For her business, Canadian trade is crucial. “When I say ‘I get plants from our local suppliers, I mean Canada because they’re only 30 minutes away,” she said. Typically, she said the shop gets one or two shipments a week from growers across the border. 

Though one supplier has communicated plans to share the cost burden if 25% tariffs on plants go into effect, others have not. “We would probably have to raise prices for like, the first time ever in order to be able to cover those costs,” Dominguez said. 

Use the audio player above to hear her story.