A New York Times dining report published Friday says tariffs tied to the Trump administration's trade fight with Canada are slowing the arrival of Canadian artisanal cheese in the United States.
The Times describes the producers as small makers who had only recently begun to establish themselves with American buyers. In the paper's telling, they were finding a toehold stateside when the trade dispute caught them.
The item available to NYC Restaurant Voice is a headline and a one-sentence summary. It does not include the full text of the Times article. Details such as which cheeses are affected, what duties are being charged, how much prices have moved, or which restaurants and retailers carry the products are not in the material reviewed here. This report does not supply them.
What the Times summary does establish is the shape of the problem. These are artisanal makers, not large industrial exporters. They were gaining access to the American market. The trade war has complicated that.
For New York kitchens and cheese counters, the practical questions are familiar ones. Importers and buyers watch duties closely because specialty cheese runs on thin margins and small lots. A new tariff can change what a shop orders or whether a producer finds the U.S. worth the paperwork. Whether that is happening to the Canadian cheeses in question is a matter for the Times reporting, which readers can find at the link above.
NYC Restaurant Voice has not independently verified the Times account and has not spoken with the producers, importers or retailers involved. We will update this item if local buyers or restaurants describe changes to their Canadian cheese supply.