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Retailers warn tariffs and retaliatory measures could dent Canadian tourism, shrink downtown foot traffic and cost jobs
Summary
Mark Sherman of Outdoor Gear Exchange and Forrest Harger of Burton told legislators that tariffs will raise wholesale prices, force inventory and ordering changes, and likely reduce Canadian visitor spending that supports downtown Vermont businesses; they urged state relief measures and local marketing to sustain retail vibrancy.
Mark Sherman, founding owner of Outdoor Gear Exchange in Burlington, and Forrest Harger, vice president at Burton, told a joint legislative hearing on April 9 that new tariffs and retaliatory measures are raising wholesale prices and threatening downtown retail traffic tied to Canadian tourism.
Sherman said about 85% of Outdoor Gear Exchange’s goods are made overseas or contain overseas components and that recent price increases from vendors are already arriving in real time. “If the price of our goods go up by 25%,” he told the committee, the store will need “25% more financing or…reduce the size of our orders in units,” which could shrink assortment and push customers to online competitors. Sherman warned that decreased Canadian day‑trip tourism for events such as Canada Day and construction holiday weeks would further reduce foot traffic and sales on Church Street.
Harger said Burton, which employs about 400 people in Vermont and 800 worldwide, sources roughly two‑thirds of its production from China and Vietnam and that about 40% of that output is destined for the United States. He described the tariff environment as “incredibly dynamic and unpredictable,” and noted that an “average effective tariff rate across all countries of origin…could now be into this 70% based on the 104% tax rate on China alone,” a figure he cited to illustrate volatility. He added that Burton’s long product development and ordering cycles (12–18 months) make rapid supply‑chain changes difficult and that shifting suppliers to avoid tariffs would be costly and time consuming.
Both witnesses asked for state actions to support retail and jobs. Sherman suggested targeted relief such as grants or low‑cost financing to help with cash flow, marketing or PR campaigns to encourage shopping local, and a change to state tax rules so retailers are not required to remit sales tax on goods stolen from their stores (an example Sherman said could save his store roughly $7,000 a year). Harger said Burton is working with federal partners to press Congress to reassert trade authority and asked state lawmakers for assistance in mitigating cost impacts.
Sherman and other retailers also raised concerns that reduced foot traffic increases the risk that downtowns become less vibrant, which can exacerbate shoplifting and other challenges. Committee members acknowledged those concerns and discussed coordination with municipal officials and the governor’s office on messaging and support for downtown commerce.
The testimony underlined the cross‑sector effects of tariffs — from manufacturing through wholesale and retail — and the potential short‑term need for state‑level cash‑flow assistance or promotional efforts to sustain Vermont’s downtown economies.
