According to AFP, the White House on September 8 (local time) said that the US will ban the import of most alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorbikes from Canada, amid trade tensions between the two neighboring countries and long-time allies continuing to escalate.
The ban will take effect in the next 3 weeks, after Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on about 20 billion USD of US goods on the same day. Previously, some Canadian provinces banned the sale of alcoholic beverages imported from the US, leading to a response from Washington.
According to President Donald Trump's decree, a series of products from Canada such as mattresses, motorboats and golf carts will be subject to a 50% surcharge from September 15.
Mr. Trump directed the US General Services Agency (GSA) to remove Canadian goods from major and long-term US government procurement contracts until the country ensures "full and fair reciprocity" for US goods.
On the Canadian side, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the country accepts short-term economic impacts to promote investment, infrastructure development and export market diversification. Currently, more than 70% of Canada's exports are brought to the US market.
The period when we were too dependent on an economic partner has ended," Mr. Carney said, while affirming that Canada does not want to escalate tensions but needs to protect domestic workers and businesses.
After US-Canada trade negotiations failed on August 21, President Trump's administration continued to impose a new 50% tariff on about 5% of goods imported from Canada.
In response, Canada's retaliatory tariffs range from 15 - 50%, only applied to items on the US tax list including steel, aluminum, cheese, household goods, clothing, cosmetics and agricultural equipment. The total value of taxable goods is about 20 billion USD, equivalent to about 6% of US exports to Canada in 2025.
Canada is also considering expanding economic relations with the European Union (EU), including the possibility of expanding existing agreements or negotiating new cooperation mechanisms. Mr. Carney is scheduled to visit Strasbourg, France next week to attend activities at the European Parliament.
