A new wave of U.S. import bans took effect Tuesday, blocking nearly US$1 billion in Canadian goods as trade tensions escalate.
The restrictions target Canadian alcohol, dairy products, molasses and certain motorcycles, while other exports face tariffs as high as 50 per cent.
The bans cover roughly US$967 million in Canadian imports. Alcohol accounts for most of the affected trade, meaning Canadian brewers are among those taking the biggest hit, according to the Toronto Sun.
Moosehead Breweries, which sends roughly 15 per cent of its product to the U.S., had been absorbing a 50 per cent tariff. Affected shipments now face an outright ban.
Quebec-based BRP is also being hit by restrictions on certain large-engine Canadian motorcycles, including Can-Am models. Roughly 2,500 people work at the company’s Valcourt, Quebec, facility.
Meanwhile, the trade fight is already hitting Canadian steelworkers.
Stelco announced Monday it will idle its Hamilton finishing operations, affecting up to 500 workers as production shifts to Nanticoke amid U.S. tariffs and falling demand.
It follows U.S. President Donald Trump touting major new steel and iron ore investments south of the border, with his administration crediting tariffs for driving American production.
“These are your 232 tariffs, the steel tariffs at work,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. “Without those tariffs, this mine doesn’t get built and this steel plant does not get built.”
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright similarly declared: “This is the Trump re-industrialization of America hitting the ground.”
The escalating measures come amid another round of tit-for-tat tariffs between the two countries.
After Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of Canadian goods in August, Ottawa responded with counter-tariffs covering $27.6 billion in U.S. imports.
Those measures took effect September 8 and targeted products including steel, aluminum, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics.
The dispute comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney looks to reduce Canada’s dependence on the U.S. by pursuing closer economic ties with Europe and Asia.
But the United States remains by far Canada’s largest export market, receiving more than 70 per cent of Canadian merchandise exports.
Carney has said there is a path to a deal with Washington, but indicated in a recent New York Times interview that Ottawa is not actively pursuing one.
Trump offered a different account Monday.
“They want to have a deal with us. They call us all the time,” Trump said before accusing Canada of treating the U.S. “very unfairly.”
He called Canada “one of the worst countries in the entire world” to deal with, accusing it of taking advantage of Americans and acting “entitled.”
As Ottawa searches for new markets, expanding U.S. trade restrictions are cutting Canadian market access, disrupting production and putting jobs at risk.
This is what "standing up to Trump" while you're hiding in Italy does, Mark..(you're such a hemorrhoid..💩 )