US bans Canadian alcohol, motorcycles and dairy products as trade spat escalates
The US and Canada escalated a bitter trade dispute on Tuesday, with Washington imposing new import bans on Canadian alcohol, motorcycles and dairy products as Ottawa's retaliatory tariffs on US goods took effect.
Issued on: 09/09/2026
By: FRANCE 24
The United States banned a broad swath of Canadian alcoholic beverages, motorcycles and dairy products from import on Tuesday, sharply escalating an already acrimonious trade spat.
The import bans, which go into effect on September 29 and were published on the White House's website, came after Canada's own retaliatory tariffs on US goods took effect after midnight on Tuesday.
Those Canadian levies themselves followed 50 percent tariffs that the United States imposed on some $20 billion of Canadian goods last month, after several rounds of negotiations collapsed.
The breakdown has widened a rift between the longtime allies, who have blamed each other for the failed talks, spurred Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to urge a further shift away from Canada's biggest trading partner, and cast doubt on the viability of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
"We have everything we need to pivot and prosper," Carney said on Tuesday in a video posted on YouTube.
"That pivot will come at a cost. There's always a cost to action. But it doesn't come close to the cost of standing still," he said.
The US bans appeared to cover most alcohol products, including beer and various types of wine, whisky, bourbon, rum, vodka, vermouth, tequila, mezcal, and brandy. The dairy ban covers whey protein, invert molasses, cane molasses and non-alcoholic beer, per notices on the White House's website.
In addition to the import bans, various cheese products were added to a list of products subject to a 50 percent tariff, but not banned outright. Some paper, aluminium, wood, furniture, lighting and other products were also added to the list.
A US official said President Donald Trump's pre-existing threat to increase tariffs on Canadian autos from 25 to 50 percent on January 1 remained in effect. The official added that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had spoken with Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's minister responsible for bilateral US trade, over the past couple of days, and the pair were expected to speak again in the coming days to see if there was an alternative path for the two countries.
In a social media post on Tuesday night, LeBlanc criticised the latest US measures and said he was in contact with Greer regarding a path forward.
"As has been the case for the last 18 months, our first priority remains on protecting and supporting Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses from these unjustified actions," he wrote.
Ottawa strikes back
Ottawa's retaliatory measures, which in turn provoked Washington's move on Tuesday night, were designed to put economic and political pressure on Washington, Canadian government officials said.
Those counter-tariffs cover some $20 billion of US goods, with duties ranging from 15 to 50 percent across products from steel and furniture to clothing and electronics, and are expected to hit sectors in some competitive states such as Michigan and Ohio, ahead of US midterm elections in November.
While the tariffs affect a small amount of exports compared with total trade between the US and Canada, some analysts worry the standoff could destabilise the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the free-trade pact that succeeded NAFTA. Together they have underpinned commerce across North America for decades.
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"What we are worried about is an escalatory spiral," said Michael Harvey, executive director of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance and a member of Carney's advisory committee on bilateral US economic relations.
"But at the same time, we totally understand that the prime minister needs to find areas of leverage."
Trump has been lobbing various attacks at Canada on Truth Social in recent days.
On Monday, he said Canadian private jet maker Bombardier would no longer be allowed to sell its planes in the United States unless it started manufacturing in the country.
He also shared a map of North America draped in the US flag, including Canada and Mexico, and an AI-generated image reviving a running jab at Carney, calling him "Governor", a reference to his repeated taunt that Canada should become the 51st US state.
On Tuesday, hours before the latest import bans, Trump directed the General Services Administration, a US government body responsible for providing services for the federal government, to coordinate with the US Trade Representative and "REMOVE Canadian-origin products from GSA’s Multiple Award Schedules unless Canada restores full and fair reciprocity for American Farmers and Companies."
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Various sectors hit
Trump's tariffs implemented last month hit sectors including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment, covering $20 billion, or 5 percent, of Canadian exports to the US.
According to Canadian and US government data, Canada has shipped almost 68 percent of total exports to the US this year, out of which roughly 80 percent moved duty-free due to exemptions under the USMCA pact. Protections under the agreement have provided the domestic economy some resilience.
Last month's tariffs, imposed under a Depression-era US law, do not allow Ottawa to exercise USMCA exemptions.
Concerns about the USMCA's future have fuelled uncertainty about investment and growth, as Canada wages a trade war against an economy 13 times its size.
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Polls also show Carney has broad support from Canadians, but that could disappear within months as the consequences of the trade war sink in, according to political analysts.
A new poll from Angus Reid on Tuesday showed that approval of Carney's performance jumped 11 points to 62 percent from an August poll.
Meanwhile, just 20 percent of Americans approved of Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Trump threatened last month to raise US tariffs on all cars, trucks and automotive parts from Canada to 50 percent starting January 1, and signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
Trump takes aim at Canadian alcohol in latest trade war escalation
The US president has escalated his standoff with Ottawa with new tariffs and an alcohol ban, prompting Carney to warn there will be a price to pay for standing firm.
Move over "Lake America." Donald Trump has opened a fresh front in his running battle with Canada, and this time the target is the drinks cabinet.
The US president on Tuesday escalated his trade war against Ottawa, banning imports of alcohol and other goods and hiking tariffs elsewhere, with the dispute showing no sign of cooling.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stood firm, acknowledging that loosening economic ties with the United States would come at a cost but insisting the benefits would outweigh the pain.
A range of Canadian products, from mattresses to motorboats and golf carts, will face a 50% surcharge from 15 September, according to Trump's executive order issued late Tuesday.
A separate import ban targeting various alcoholic beverages as well as dairy products such as whey will take effect on 29 September, under other executive orders issued at the same time.
Canada's retaliatory tariffs came into effect earlier on Tuesday, applying to C$27.6bn (€17.1bn) in US imports, including steel and aluminium products and dairy goods such as cheese, in response to duties Washington announced on 22 August.
Canada has "everything we need to pivot and prosper," Carney said in a video address. "That pivot will come at a cost. There's always a cost to action. But it doesn't come close to the cost of standing still."
Contracts on the chopping block
Responding to the latest Canadian levies, Trump pledged to bar Canadian companies from securing US government contracts.
In a social media post earlier on Tuesday, Trump said he was directing officials to "REMOVE Canadian-origin products" from the General Services Administration (GSA)'s Multiple Award Schedules programme for long-term contracts.
Such schedules account for more than $50bn (€43bn) a year in contracts, Trump added.
On Monday, Trump threatened to try to block sales of Canada's Bombardier Aviation unless the Quebec-based planemaker moves manufacturing to the United States.
In response, the aerospace company pointed to the tens of thousands of jobs it has created across the US, with direct employment in more than 20 states, including Kansas, Texas, Arizona and California.
The two Republican senators representing Kansas said they had conveyed their concerns to the White House.
"I'm going to fight to keep Bombardier's more than 1,200 Kansas jobs. I've already taken that concern inside the Oval Office," Senator Roger Marshall posted on X, with Senator Jerry Moran posting similar comments.
US tariffs pose a modestly negative risk to Canada's overall economy, analysts say, though the impact is sharper on central Canada's manufacturing sector.
A war of memes and maps
"I don't believe in escalating the conflict. That's not constructive," Carney said in his video statement on Tuesday. "But our tariffs are necessary to protect our workers, protect our companies, and protect our communities. This is about who we are as Canadians."
Canada's minister in charge of trade with the United States, Dominic LeBlanc, said late on Tuesday that Ottawa was "assessing the latest tariff measures".
Negotiations between the two sides broke down on 21 August after days of talks in Washington.
At the time, Carney said US negotiators had introduced restrictions on Canadian trade deals with other countries at the eleventh hour, along with unacceptable "threats" to the French language and "Quebec culture".
Ottawa and Washington have not resumed talks since.
On Sunday, Trump posted an illustration of himself towering over Carney as they played ice hockey, captioned "Get up, governor" — a nod to his ambition to turn Canada into another US state.
In August, he also signed an order renaming Lake Ontario, on the border with Canada, as "Lake America," sparking fury north of the border amid a broader wave of patriotism triggered by the US president's hostility.
Although Carney is backed by Canadian public opinion, his country remains reliant on its neighbour with nearly 60% of Canada's imports coming from the United States, and about 70% of its exports going to the US market.
Canada's government has unveiled an aid package worth C$7.5bn (€4.65bn) to help businesses and workers weather the fallout.
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