The night before the Trump administration began enforcing a 25% tariff on Canadian imports, Chicago-based GI Stone had 13 trucks at the U.S. border, each loaded down with specialized granite set for installation in the Obama Presidential Center under construction in Jackson Park.

Only eight trucks made it through before the tariffs took effect on March 4.

“We rushed all the trucks we could get,” said Sandya Dandamudi, GI Stone’s president and owner. “But there was a lot of congestion and long lines, so everything took a long time to process. For us, the tariffs have been a bit of a nightmare, and the biggest problem is the chaos.”

Sandya Dandamudi, president of GI Stone, in the GI Stone facility in West Town, Aug. 28, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Adjusting to the tariffs im

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