CUSMA. USMCA. Both sides of the border. Every day.

I'm Jack Jackson, founder of J44 Group. I owned and ran Awash Systems — a 34-year-old Canadian manufacturer — for 17 years. With 90% of our sales going into the U.S. market, cross-border trade compliance wasn't theory for me. It was survival.

For 16 of those 17 years, we had no issues. We imported supplies into Canada. We exported finished goods into the U.S. We had a broker. We had documentation. We believed we were fully CUSMA and USMCA protected on both sides of the border.

Then March 2025 arrived. Tariff invoices started hitting. And we discovered that "believing you're compliant" and "being able to prove you're compliant" are two completely different things — with a very expensive gap between them.

I sold Awash to a U.S. buyer. They relocated the operation to Buffalo, New York. A 34-year-old Canadian manufacturer — gone across the border. Section 232 aluminum tariffs made the long-term math impossible for a Canadian owner. That's what this costs when you find out too late.

Manufacturer Daily is the free daily content version of that experience. If you're a Canadian manufacturer importing from the U.S., or a U.S. company exporting into Canada, this channel is built for you.