U.S. tariffs of 50 per cent on certain dairy products are putting pressure on Canadian cheesemakers, with an Ontario producer and a Vermont importer telling CBC that the levies threaten a growing American market for award-winning cheese.

Mark Anderson, CEO of Mariposa Dairy in Lindsay, Ont., told CBC’s The Current that close to 80 per cent of the company’s product goes to the United States. The business buys milk from about 200 dairy goat farmers, leaving it little room to cut production or redirect sales.

“We don’t really have any other markets that are like the U.S. that can take that kind of volume,” Anderson said.

Rather than pass the additional costs on to consumers, Mariposa has been sharing the burden with its farmers and distributor, Gellert Global Group, according to CBC’s reporting.

“We’re spreading it out so we could all take a little bit of the pain so we can last a little longer until this gets resolved,” Anderson said. He described the tariff costs as unsustainable.

The pressure comes after Canadian cheeses gained recognition at American competitions. Quebec’s Fromagerie la Station won best in show at the American Cheese Society’s annual competition in 2024 and repeated the achievement in 2025, CBC reported.

James Hanly, a sales director at Vermont-based Provisions International, which imports Fromagerie la Station cheese, said those awards helped attract interest from American buyers. Since the tariffs took effect in August, however, higher prices have weakened demand, he told The Current.

Hanly warned that when shoppers stop buying an expensive cheese, retailers may stop stocking it, costing producers their place on store shelves.

Both Hanly and Anderson expressed hope that Democratic victories in the U.S. midterm elections could bring relief. CBC reported that senior Democrats have pledged to work toward ending tariffs on allies, including Canada, when they take control of Congress next year. That pledge does not yet amount to tariff relief for producers.

Sources