Surrey duty-free shop hit hard by threatened trade war, owner says

A Surrey business owner is caught in the crossfire of a looming Canada-U.S. trade war, claiming his usually busy duty-free shop has already been hit hard, as British Columbians reconsider travel plans.

“Our business has dropped over 80 per cent and now we have reduced our staff and reduced our working hours,” said Peter Raju, owner of Peace Arch Duty Free by the Highway 99 border crossing. “This morning, we are now operating on a skeleton staff of only three to four people when usually we have about 20 people working.”

Raju claims the drop in business started after Premier David Eby recently urged British Columbians to reconsider travel plans to the U.S. in response to President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs on Canadian goods headed into the United States.

He says he is also struggling with the push to remove American booze from store shelves.

“What benefit is there to removing already-paid-for American liquor? You remove what you’ve paid for and then put it back. I can see not ordering any new liquor but why would remove and stop having it shipped to us when you’ve already paid for it?”

He also believes British Columbians will continue to shop for cheaper U.S. booze in Washington and bring it back across the border.

“The federal customs officers will not stop you from bringing it into Canada. I just don’t understand the sense of it,” he told 1130 NewsRadio on Monday.

Raju says he has repeatedly requested meetings with the provincial government to discuss ways to help businesses like his stay competitive.

“All I am asking for is a meeting with somebody from either the Premier’s Office or the Ministry of Public Safety and the liquor board to sit with us and see how we can resolve this matter instead of closing a business down,” he said.

“They are not offering us any help or even consulting with us as to what could be done. We are saying remove the [BC Liquor Distribution Branch] from our business so we can compete in an open field,” he said.

“Canada is the only country where duty-free shops have to buy from the liquor board and pay them a huge markup. We don’t get any benefit.”

Raju believes reducing or eliminating the 20 per cent BCLDB markups would help B.C. duty-free shops compete with less expensive American alcohol, as well as liquor shipped into B.C. from Alberta.

“And then there will be a level playing field and we will compete and deal with this just like any other business,” he added. “Now with the premier’s statement and inaction, it’s going to force us to close a business that has been in existence for over 40 years. There’s no way we can operate at these sales levels.”