‘It’s not changing for the better’: Canadian e‑bike industry feeling tariff impacts

Hallee Mandryk reports how U.S. tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump are now affecting the e-bike industry.

Canadian businesses are no strangers to the frequently changing tariffs imposed on trade with the United States, and recently Biktrix, a Canadian e-bike company, is feeling the impacts more than ever.

“We bumped up prices a little bit for the Americans because we still offer good value, and we could compete in that space. But recently there’s been more additional fees... like a steel and aluminum derivative fee. The problem with that is that now we got to define how much steel and aluminum is on a bike,” Roshan Thomas, the CEO and founder of Biktrix, said.

Thomas explained that it is very challenging to know the exact amount of steel and aluminum on a bike, and where those products originate from, adding that not being able to provide that exact number will result in a hefty fee.

“If we don’t know, then they just charge a 50 per cent duty. So essentially we shipped out a bike a few weeks ago for US$2,400 as the retail value there, and we got charged $2,200 and some in duties and taxes, which is ridiculous,” Thomas said.

The Biktrix CEO explained that throughout his 11 years in business, high performance bikes were quite popular among American customers, whereas Canadians typically opted for other models. Now, the company has marked down the price of these high performance bikes, and shared the reason for the sale on social media.

“Obviously it costs us more to get the high performance style bikes. But now the problem is we’re stuck with these high performance style bikes that we can’t really sell as much volume as we want in Canada. Obviously, the post that we made on Facebook has gotten lots of attention, and we’ve moved quite a bit of these bikes in the last few weeks, we still have a few left, it’s improving, but that’s the big challenge we’re fighting with,” Thomas said.

• Get the latest news from Saskatoon, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

According to Keith Willoughby, the dean of the Edwards School of Business, issues like this one are becoming more frequent for Canadian businesses which used to see a lot of American customers.

“There was a huge volume of trade happening between the two nations. There still is that high volume of trade that’s occurring, but now it’s coming at a higher price. The concern then is that eventually the prices become so high that they’re passed on to consumers, which creates additional inflation, or people simply stop buying, which then creates the challenge of no market for these products,” Willoughby said.

The dean added that many Canadians are adjusting to a new reality. And while tariffs are creating difficult times, but many consumers and businesses are being mindful about Canada’s economy.

“I would hope that there’s a way for governments and industry to work together to stabilize that situation. I think that’s the pinch point where it’s most impacted the average Canadian consumer... We’ve weathered the storm so far. It is turbulent, but together we will proceed much better together than we will apart in this situation,” Willoughby said.

Thomas shared that while it is frustrating to lose out on sales, he is choosing to focus on what’s ahead for his company.

“Things are constantly changing and it’s not changing for the better… I’m not a person that relies on hopes and dreams. We just want to be practical about it. So I know we’re likely not going to see that recover, at least not in the near term. Even companies that are located in China and in the U.S. are struggling,” Thomas said.

Thomas estimated that the number of American customers has decreased by roughly 90 per cent in the past year. He shared that while the company will continue to serve those in the United States, Biktrix will be focusing more on its Canadian customers from now on.

“Those sales where we’re losing money are not worth getting... and we’ve got very heavily committed to the Canadian market. We’ve got six showrooms in Western Canada. So we’re just trying to expand that and keep growing in Canada,” Thomas said.