NewzU.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 new import ban includes an array of alcoholic beverages, including beer, sparkling wine, brandy, sake and many types of liquor. (EPA Images pic)WASHINGTON: A new US import ban on several Canadian products, including many alcoholic beverages, went into effect Tuesday as US President Donald Trump's economic war against one of his country's largest trading partners deepens.The ban was announced earlier this month and entered into force on Tuesday at 12:01 am US Eastern time.It comes as the neighbouring nations have been locked in a cycle of spiralling trade tensions after talks to resolve the crisis broke down in August after days of meetings in Washington.Since taking office for his second term, Trump has upended global trade by applying a slew of sometimes eyewateringly high tariffs on friends and foes alike.The new import ban includes an array of alcoholic beverages, including beer, sparkling wine, brandy, sake and many types of liquor.It also covers the dairy-based whey protein as well as high-powered motorcycles.Trump announced the latest measures on Sept 8, after Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs applying to around US$20 billion in US exports.The US president has justified the ban on Canadian alcohol products by pointing towards "discriminatory" boycotts and tariffs on US products of the same nature.On Monday, he accused his country's second-largest trading partner of being "entitled"."The problem is that they've treated the US very unfairly.
They have been one of the worst countries in the entire world," he told reporters at the White House.Anti-US sentiment has been high in Canada since Trump took office, with the billionaire frequently referring to the country of 41.7 million people as the United States' "51st state".In August, Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario, on the border with Canada, to "Lake America".The move sparked fury in Canada amid the broad wave of patriotism brought on by Trump's hostility.Although Carney is backed by Canadian public opinion, his country remains reliant on its southern neighbour. Nearly 60% of Canada's imports come from the US, and about 70% of its exports go to the US market.To help businesses and workers, Canada's government has unveiled an aid package worth US$5.4 billion.Still, the impact of Tuesday's import ban could be "significant", said Spirits Canada, a trade association for the country'… 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.
The latest sparring began over the summer when Trump reached back to a Great Depression law to impose 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, charging that Canada discriminates against U.S. dairy, auto and alcoholic beverage producers. Canada promptly counterpunched with tariffs of 15%, 25% or 50%, matching U.S.
To punish Canada for retaliating against his tariffs, Trump decided to ban a list of Canadian products, effective 12:01 a.m. 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.
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