Shaheen talks tariffs during Derry bakery visit

DERRY — U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen Monday visited Chatila’s Bakery and Ice Cream to discuss the harmful impact of President Donald Trumps sweeping tariffs on Canada, the state’s largest trading partner.

 

Following the tariff announcement, the baker’s contracts with retailers in Canada were cancelled.

 

“What I heard today is what I’ve heard from too many small businesses across New Hampshire; these tariffs, and the threat of more tariffs, are causing real harm to the Granite State,” Shaheen said in a statement. “The ongoing uncertainty creates a real challenge, particularly for small businesses who have more trouble being able to weather hard times than big businesses. And in New Hampshire, that means higher prices, fewer jobs and a weaker economy.”

 

Mohamad Chatila has owned and operated Chatila’s Sugar Free Bakery for 38 years, with a particular focus on providing diabetic-friendly and dietary restriction-friendly baked goods. In addition to a retail store in Salem, Chatila operates a wholesale production facility in Derry.

 

The bakery exports 85% of its wholesale products to Canadian companies; however, many of these contracts have been terminated by Canadian buyers due to recent tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration.

 

At this time last year, Chatila’s Bakery employed 15 individuals at its wholesale facility to manage order fulfillment, but due to the economic challenges including tohse posed by tariffs, the bakery has reduces its workforce to just two employees.

 

Shaheen is leading efforts in Congress to mitigate the harmful impacts of President Trump’s tariffs including through her Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes on Imported Goods Act which would limited President Trump’s ability to leverage sweeping tariffs that increase the costs for American consumers and families.

 

Her effort to pass this bill by unanimous consent was blocked by Senate Republicans. In recent weeks, Shaheen has traveled across the Granite State to visit businesses included C&J, DCI Furniture, Mount Cabot Maple and American Calan Inc. to hear directly from Granite Staters impacted by the looming tariffs.