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U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to tax imports from Canada have begun hurting exporters and other domestic businesses. A new study conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) found that 34% of small and medium-sized exporters are experiencing order cancellations and delays. Among all businesses surveyed, 18% said the same.

Trump announced plans on Thursday to slap additional tariffs on imports from countries that tax American exports. The move comes as Canadians ready themselves for a range of tariffs on Canadian goods shipping into the U.S.

“This is generating a lot of uncertainty at the moment, which for any entrepreneur or business person is a killer,” said Simon Gaudreault, CFIB’s chief economist and vice-president of research.

Even if the tariffs prove to be a short-term negotiating tactic, the threat to Canada’s economy is significant. “I think it’s very likely that we could go into a recession,” he said.

Roughly one in five survey respondents said their company will go under in fewer than three months if Ottawa doesn’t provide support, according to a media release. That’s unlikely, Gaudreault said.

“There’s been encouraging discussions in the past few weeks around tearing down the barriers to internal trade,” he said. “That in itself could boost our GDP by hundreds of billions of dollars. It could be a great mitigation strategy. There could be tax cuts and then, of course, there’s what the Bank of Canada will do in all of this.”

On Wednesday, the central bank released a summary of its discussions leading up to the Jan. 29 overnight rate cut, to 3%. Trade uncertainty played a major role.

“Members also agreed that the threat of tariffs had increased uncertainty, and this would weigh on business confidence and investment intentions, as well as consumer sentiment,” reads the Bank of Canada report. “This also supported the case for a lower policy rate.”

More than half (54%) of respondents to the CFIB survey said they’re unprepared for the tariffs.

Many are planning to take action, though. One-quarter (24%) are considering delaying expansion; 20% may lay off workers or cut hours; and 45% are sourcing new suppliers.

Sixty-two per cent told CFIB they are prepared to pass on the higher cost of their goods to U.S. customers.