November 6, 2026
The latest tariff tensions between the United States and Canada are another reminder that in a deeply integrated North American economy, there are rarely winners in a trade dispute. For AICC members on both sides of the border, that reality is especially clear.
The corrugated, folding carton, and rigid box industries do not operate neatly within national boundaries. Paper, machinery, parts, equipment, and finished products routinely move between the U.S. and Canada. Customers operate in both countries. Suppliers serve both markets. Business relationships built over decades do not stop at the border.
Tariffs complicate all of it. When either government imposes tariffs, and the other responds with retaliatory measures, the immediate impact may appear to fall on the exporting country. But the costs quickly move through the supply chain. Manufacturers face higher input costs, customers reconsider sourcing decisions, long-established supplier relationships are disrupted, and investment decisions are delayed.
Uncertainty, however, may be the greatest cost of all. Independent converters need to know what their materials will cost, whether equipment and parts will remain affordable, and whether customers across the border will still be economically viable tomorrow. It is difficult to quote business, plan capital expenditures, or make hiring decisions when trade rules can change with little warning.
Unlike large multinational corporations, independent converters often cannot simply move production from one country to another or reorganize global supply chains. They succeed through efficiency, innovation, customer service, and long-term relationships.
That is why AICC’s message to policymakers in both Washington and Ottawa should be consistent. Trade policy should strengthen North American manufacturing, not place additional barriers between manufacturers who have spent generations building an integrated marketplace.
The U.S. and Canada will inevitably have trade disagreements, but tariffs should be a last resort, as opposed to a negotiating reflex. AICC members are competitors, customers, suppliers, and often friends—on both sides of the border.
For independent boxmakers, the border should be a gateway to opportunity, not an increasingly expensive tollbooth.
