US Bans Canadian Alcohol and Motorbikes in Trade War Escalation

Washington (GNP): The United States has imposed an import ban on a range of Canadian products, including alcoholic spirits, dairy goods and motorbikes, deepening a months-long trade dispute between the two neighbours. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Tuesday setting out the restrictions, which take effect on 29 September, accusing Canada of discriminating against American businesses.

The ban comes as Canada’s own retaliatory tariffs on US goods took effect the same day. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a video address that his country’s shift away from the United States as its primary trading partner would carry a cost, though he argued it remained less costly than inaction. More than two-thirds of Canada’s total exports normally go to the United States, and Canada ranks as the second-largest US trading partner after Mexico.

Under the new measures, dairy products such as whey, cane molasses, non-alcoholic beer, a range of wine, rum, vodka and malt beer products, and motorbikes including mopeds are barred from entry into the United States entirely. Other goods, among them various cheeses, raw hides and skins, paper, some furniture, mattresses, metals including aluminum and iron, motorboats, golf carts, fishing rod parts and switchboards, face steeper import taxes rather than outright bans.

The White House said Canada had restricted US goods while permitting similar imports from other countries, calling the practice discriminatory. The latest action follows a 50 percent tariff imposed last month on roughly 20 billion dollars’ worth of Canadian goods, which struck sectors including furniture, wine, and sporting and fishing equipment. Canada answered with matching dollar-for-dollar tariffs on US steel, clothing and furniture, which came into force after midnight on Tuesday.

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Trade analyst Deborah Elms of the Hinrich Foundation said the new import ban could have a strong effect on Canadian businesses that sell to American buyers, even though early estimates put the immediate impact at around one billion dollars’ worth of goods. She said Canada was likely to hold its current course while adjusting business support measures, adding that the tone of the US proclamations was not conducive to bringing both sides back to the negotiating table.

No new trade talks have been scheduled since discussions broke down in late August, despite both governments saying they would prefer to reach a deal. The dispute has already reshaped consumer behavior in Canada, where a boycott of American products, particularly alcohol, has emptied some store shelves since Trump’s global tariff campaign began last year. Tensions between the two countries have also spilled beyond trade, with Trump ordering in August that Lake Ontario be renamed Lake America, a move that drew criticism from Canadians and some Americans alike.

On Monday, Trump had signaled further restrictions were possible, warning Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier that it would lose access to the US market unless it relocated production there.

Carney said, “There’s always an action cost, but it doesn’t come close to the cost of standing still.”