Washington businesses are bracing for the impact of Canadian tariffs on American goods. One of the state’s largest industries, lumber, is already feeling the pressure. One company says uncertainty over trade policy is raising the cost of imported materials, weakening demand, and making it harder to budget projects. Tariffs might be a short term thing, but the repercussions of them play out for years. Canada is Washington’s 2nd largest export market with more than $7 billion in goods shipped north of the border last year. Governor Bob Ferguson says exports have already topped $4 billion this year. [.5 min video]

Related coverage in The Minnesota Star Tribune: Along the northern border, towns fight to preserve friendship amid escalating trade war. As Canada and the US accelerate their clash over tariffs, places like International Falls, Minnesota, and Fort Frances, Ontario, are clinging to a longstanding kinship.