Syrup maker Carter Norris checks the density of maple syrup last year in Monkton, Vermont. Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
Vermont's maple syrup industry is facing a sticky situation: tariffs.
Threat level: President Trump's trade war threatens to ensnare maple syrup providers, which rely heavily on foreign equipment to keep the sweet product flowing.
Stainless steel fixtures used to "connect sap lines and boil the liquid into syrup can originate in China," while "packaging often comes from Italy" and "the vast majority of equipment is sold by Canada," AP reports.
State of play: Syrup producers in New York, Maine and Wisconsin could also face higher costs.
The Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association is looking for clarity in the tariff policy so its sugarers can get back to growth mode. But that's proving challenging.
"It's like the weather in New England," executive director Allison Hope tells AP. "You wait five minutes and it might change."
