ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The waiting period for tariff implementations continues after the Trump administration announced a 90-day pause on most of them earlier this month. There’s also a lawsuit attempting to stop the tariffs filed by a dozen state attorneys general, including New York’s Letitia James. Throughout this tariff purgatory, businesses across the state are bracing for the potential impact.

Vineyards in the Finger Lakes are trying to keep up with the back-and-forth battle that could significantly impact the industry.

What You Need To Know

  • The Trump administration announced a 90-day pause on some U.S. tariffs earlier this month

  • The Finger Lakes region fears the potential impacts tariffs may have on the wine industry

  • While the region has been making wine for around 160 years, it's only become known in the international market in recent decades

  • Boundary Breaks has already invested years into pushing its products north of the border, and it's concerned about the consequences tariffs may have on the business

“We’re recognized now pretty widely as one of the leading producers of Riesling wines in the world,” Bruce Murray explained. “It’s important for us to be able to extend our products beyond the border of New York. So we're in 25 states in the U.S. and then also beyond the borders of the country, too.”

Murray and his wife are co-owners of Boundary Breaks Vineyard. They purchased the property in 2009 and opened for business in 2016. Boundary Breaks has invested years into pushing its products over the border. The thought of tariffs puts their years of efforts at risk.

“My first thoughts are, well, that’s not really helpful in any respect,” Murray admitted when he heard the news. “They're now charging 20%, 30% more for that bottle of wine. And that's inflationary. It makes things more expensive [for] people. That means people may not buy the wine that they were buying before. We're in a very competitive global market for wine and we think artificially introducing a fee structure, we don't see how it helps.”

The Finger Lakes region has been making wine for about 160 years but has only become known for its wines over the past few decades. Compared to European countries that’ve established their grape shoots for centuries, the Finger Lakes region is much newer to the competitive nature of the international wine industry. Murray says the wine industry is already heavily regulated, and there are many political influences that New York grape growers have no control over. He notes that the climate over the border is very similar to that of the Finger Lakes region, and if Canadian distributors were forced to pay a higher price for New York products, they likely would. He says the market is already very uncertain, without the possibility of tariffs.

“We have an emerging, [and a] really strong, Finger Lakes wine region. And many of our wineries have reached out to us. We are at the crisp of putting out some really incredible wines, ground-breaking,” Rep. Claudia Tenney said in a recent Ways and Means Committee meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer.

“If the shoe is on that foot now, it could be on our foot the next time," Murray said. "And we also share the same concerns about the economy overall. Consumers' sense of confidence. And we don't see any reason to create artificial barriers in the marketplace. And I think that’s the feeling in a lot of places right now. Those tariffs harm small, independent, high-quality artisanal producers, just like they would affect us. And I just don't think we understand how tightly integrated we are with other people in the world.”

“We’re dependent on the Canadians to come for commerce," Tenney said. "They’re a great friend to the north. And we’ve seen a 23% drop just since February in visitors to our wineries. And we just want to know if we can help get your assistance and help in making sure that this sort of very important, yet fragile, relationship that my district has with Canada, and historically strong relationship. We can continue to work to make sure that we get that kind of trade and the kind of tourism that we’ve been getting from our Canadian friends to the north."

As New Yorkers await the 90-day pause on tariffs to bring more clarity to the country, Boundary Breaks is preparing for another busy harvesting season that will hopefully continue to bring in business.

“We just simply said, look, let's put our head down," Murray said. "We're in the middle of getting our vineyards ready for harvest. That's a lot of work right now. We have all kinds of moving parts here. Let’s pay attention to what we can control and then let the rest sort itself out as time goes on."