President Donald Trump on July 20 (US time) ordered the imposition of an additional 50% tariff on a series of goods from Canada, citing Canada's treatment of US alcohol, cars and dairy products.
Mr. Trump signed three executive orders on July 20. The tariffs will take effect from 0:01 Eastern time on August 19 and will be added to other tariffs and charges already applied to related goods. Mr. Trump cited Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 50% on discriminatory countries to US trade.
A decree cites the decision of most Canadian provinces and territories to stop buying, distributing or selling US alcoholic beverages starting from March 2025. Alberta and Saskatchewan lifted restrictions in June 2025, but the ban remains in effect in other areas. The White House said that US alcoholic beverage imports into Canada decreased by 81%, from about 718 million USD to 137 million USD, in the period from March 2025 to February 2026 compared to the same period last year, while imports from some other countries increased during this period.
The second decree accuses Canada of discriminating against US car exports through tariffs and restrictions not applied to cars from other countries. According to the decree, US car exports to Canada decreased by 22%, from 25.9 billion USD to 20.3 billion USD, in the period from April 2025 to March 2026.
The third decree cites the difference between Canada's import quotas for US and European cheeses. Mr. Trump said Canadian retailers can access duty-free quotas for European cheeses but are excluded from similar quotas applied to US cheeses.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the new tariffs affect "a significant amount of Canadian goods" and accused the US of violating the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (USMCA). He said Canada's retaliation measures are simply commensurate with previous US tariffs, including tariffs applied to the Canadian auto industry.
Canada has made a series of detailed and comprehensive proposals to resolve this dispute and modernize CUSMA," Mr. Carney said.
We are ready to promote these discussions in the coming weeks. Under all circumstances, Canada will make unremitting efforts and take all necessary measures to build internal strength, while supporting Canadian workers, farmers, businesses and families," Mr. Carney added.
