US to ban Canadian motorcycle, dairy, alcohol imports as trade war sizzles

• The US banned Canadian imports of alcohol, motorcycles, and dairy starting Sept 29, escalating a trade dispute following failed negotiations and retaliatory tariffs.
• Canada’s retaliatory tariffs target US goods worth US$20 billion, aiming to pressure the US ahead of its midterm elections.
• The trade war risks destabilising the USMCA agreement, creating economic uncertainty despite strong Canadian public support for Prime Minister Carney’s response.

WASHINGTON/OTTAWA - The United States banned a broad swath of Canadian alcoholic beverages, motorcycles and dairy products from import on Sept 8, sharply escalating an already acrimonious trade spat.

The import bans, which go into effect on Sept 29 and were published on the White House’s website, came after Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on US goods took effect after midnight on Sept 9.

Those Canadian levies themselves followed 50 per cent tariffs that the United States imposed on some US$20 billion (S$25.29 billion) of Canadian goods last month, after several rounds of negotiations collapsed.

The breakdown has widened a rift between the longtime allies, both of whom have blamed the other for the failed talks, and spurred Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to urge a further shift away from the country’s biggest trading partner.

“We have everything we need to pivot and prosper,” Carney said on Sept 8 in a video posted on YouTube after the tariffs came into effect.

“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.

Ottawa designed the retaliatory measures to put economic and political pressure on Washington, Canadian government officials said, and the tariffs are expected to hit sectors in some competitive states such as Michigan and Ohio, ahead of US midterm elections in November.

Gabriel Brunet, spokesperson for Dominic LeBlanc, Canadian minister responsible for bilateral US trade, said: “Canadian and American officials have maintained ongoing discussions on a range of issues, although formal trade negotiations are not taking place at this stage.”

Ottawa’s counter-tariffs cover some US$20 billion of US goods, with duties ranging from 15 per cent to 50 per cent across products from steel and furniture to clothing and electronics.

While the new 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.

“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,” Harvey said.

Trump’s social media posts, which targeted Canada over the long holiday weekend, continued into Sept 7 when he attacked Canada’s procurement policies.

In a post on Truth Social, 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.”

The Canadian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Trump’s comment.

On Sept 7, Trump said on social media that 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, without saying whether an official government order would follow.

The company’s shares opened down more than 6 per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Sept 8.

The Bombardier post followed another Trump post where he shared a map of North America draped in the US flag, including Canada and Mexico.

He also shared 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.

US tariffs hit Canadian wine, furniture, dairy

Trump’s tariffs implemented in August hit sectors including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment, covering US$20 billion, or 5 per cent, of Canadian exports to the US.

According to Canadian and US government data, Canada has shipped almost 68 per cent of total exports to the US in 2026, out of which roughly 80 per cent moved duty-free due to exemptions under the USMCA pact.

Protections under the agreement have provided the domestic economy some resilience.

The new 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.

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 Sept 8 showed that approval of Carney’s performance jumped 11 points to 62 per cent from an August poll.

Meanwhile, just 20 per cent of Americans approved of Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

Trump threatened in August to raise US tariffs on all cars, trucks and automotive parts from Canada to 50 per cent starting January 1, and signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America. REUTERS