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$1B Ban of Canadian Imports Begins 09/29 06:18
U.S.-Canada relations, already tense, are likely to deteriorate further
after the United States went ahead early Tuesday with a decision to ban nearly
$1 billion worth of Canadian imports, including alcoholic beverages, dairy
products and motorcycles.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S.-Canada relations, already tense, are likely to
deteriorate further after the United States went ahead early Tuesday with a
decision to ban nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian imports, including
alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles.
The ban amounts to barely a ripple in $880 billion worth of a two-way annual
trade between the two northern neighbors. But it marks another ratcheting up of
President Donald Trump's second-term trade war with America's longtime ally and
trading partner.
The import ban "certainly won't do anything to help the trade tensions
between the United States and Canada,'' said trade attorney Patrick Childress,
a partner at Holland & Knight and a former U.S. trade official.
The latest sparring began over the summer when Trump reached back to
https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariff-canada-supreme-court-depression-e5501950
e025dbe8df2b7ec662dbe2e4 on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports,
charging that Canada discriminates against U.S. dairy, auto and alcoholic
beverage producers. Canada
https://apnews.com/live/trump-economy-news-updates-08-25-2026 with tariffs of
15%, 25% or 50%, matching U.S. imports dollar for dollar.
To punish Canada for retaliating against his tariffs,
https://apnews.com/article/canada-carney-trump-tariffs-trade-war-a5fbb50d1c30327
ae813482556a37ac3 a list of Canadian products, effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern
time Tuesday.
The economic impact is likely to be minimal. Childress noted that the
products on the banned list were already facing Trump's tariffs. "For a lot of
these goods, the 50% was already acting as a de facto ban by making importation
from Canada into the United States uneconomical," he said.
Jacob Jensen, director of trade policy at the center-right American Action
Forum think tank, calculates that the ban would cover $967 million worth of
Canadian imports, based on 2025 numbers. Of that, 87% would be alcoholic
beverages that the U.S. targeted because of some Canadian provinces responding
to Trump's provocations by banning U.S. booze from store shelves.
Also banned are some dairy products -- including the milk byproduct whey.
The two countries have long clashed over Canada's attempts to protect its dairy
industry from foreign competition by imposing hefty tariffs once dairy imports
have exceeded a quota.
The ban also covers motorcycles. Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) in
Quebec confirmed that its three-wheel Can-Am Spyder and Canyon motorcycles
"will be excluded from importation into the U.S.'' But BRP said the impact
likely won't be felt until next year because it has completed most production
and shipments for the current season.
"This marks yet another escalation in the trade war that may result in
further retaliation on the Canadian side," Jensen said. He expects Canadian
exporters and U.S. importers "impacted by these bans will be highly motivated''
to demand that trade officials on both sides find some way to reach a
"resolution of this whole ordeal.''
The impasse imperils efforts to
https://apnews.com/article/usmca-mexico-canada-trade-nafta-4531f12f1a59cb2b2e20b
cdbdd9d47b5, a North American trade pact Trump pressured America's neighbors
into accepting in his first term and which he once declared "the most modern,
up-to-date, and balanced trade agreement in the history of our country.''
The deal allowed most goods to cross North American borders duty free. But
since returning to the White House last year, Trump has announced a series of
tariffs that have clouded the future of trade in the region.
Trump has directed most of his ire at Canada. He is openly seeking to pull
Canadian manufacturing south. And he has inflamed public opinion in Canada by
repeatedly suggesting that the country become America's 51st state.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney came to power last year on a promise to
stand up to Trump. In addition to retaliating against Trump tariffs -- China is
the only other country to do so,
https://apnews.com/article/us-china-trade-tariffs-deal-trump-xi-f47781187c501e7c
4f10a686fb2572e2 -- Carney has sought to reduce Canada's reliance on the United
States, which last year accounted for more than 70% of Canadian exports.
"There is now a price to be paid for access to the United States market,"
Carney said earlier this month. The Canadian prime minister wants to double
Canada's non-U.S. trade over the next decade.
Carney has embraced the prospect of Canada becoming the
https://apnews.com/article/europe-canada-carney-associate-member-3fdb111dd4d23d8
8b3de88c274c52711.
And he said last week that trade negotiations with
https://apnews.com/hub/india are making "good progress" and that the two
countries are aiming to
https://apnews.com/article/canada-india-carney-visit-trump-d76ddfa5957085da74bc2
3d8014ccc35 by the https://apnews.com/hub/g-20-summit summit in mid-December.
Carney also broke with the U.S. earlier this year, striking a deal with
https://apnews.com/article/china-canada-carney-xi-beijing-b71c1b67d3489a8b4058c6
50152b0cb9 at a sharply reduced tariff in exchange for China lowering tariffs
on Canadian canola.
"We take note of the coming into force of the Administration's previously
announced trade measures," said Gabriel Brunet, a spokesman for Canada-U.S.
Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc. "Our first priority remains on protecting and
supporting Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses from these
unjustified actions. Our core focus is on what we can control: building
strength at home, diversifying our partnerships abroad, and building Canada
strong for all Canadians."
Trump expressed confidence that the Canadians would cave in.
"They're gonna come in and they're gonna say, 'Sir, we are sorry,'" he told
reporters Monday. "They've treated the United States very, very badly. I think
a deal will be made but it's gonna be fair."
Trade attorney Childress said the standoff is likely to continue for months,
not weeks. The import bans and the tariffs so far "probably won't cause enough
economic upheaval to force either party back to the negotiating table,'' he
said.
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