The White House has escalated its ongoing trade conflict with Canada by unveiling a series of strict import bans on Canadian alcoholic beverages, agricultural goods, and motorcycles, alongside a sweeping 50 percent tariff hike on structural materials, mattresses, and recreational vehicles set for September 15. According to reports, the sweeping trade measures signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening come in direct retaliation against Canada’s recently enacted counter-tariffs.
Import Prohibitions and Surcharges Taking Effect
Under three separate presidential decrees published late Tuesday, the United States will completely prohibit the entry of numerous Canadian goods starting September 29. The ban targets a wide assortment of alcoholic products—including beer, wine, cider, whisky, rum, vodka, and tequila—alongside non-alcoholic beers, select agricultural items, a dairy product known as whey, and motorcycles. These prohibitions follow a separate tranche of penalties taking effect September 15, which slaps a 50 percent surcharge on goods such as mattresses, motorboats, golf carts, building materials, wood products, and certain dairy items. These additions expand the scope of tariffs originally activated under Section 338 of the U.S. Tariff Act, a statute resurrected by Donald Trump in July.
Targeting Public Procurement Contracts
Beyond border levies, the administration moved to restrict Canadian businesses from participating in American public procurement processes. President Trump instructed the General Services Administration (GSA)—the federal agency managing state supply contracts—to take all necessary measures to strip products of Canadian origin from its lists of approved suppliers. The procurement market affected by this directive can reach up to 50 billion dollars per year, noted President Trump. By targeting public tenders, Washington risks penalizing Canadian exporters who had previously avoided direct product surtaxes, noted Ryan Majerus, a trade law specialist.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, President Trump defended the procurement lockout by arguing that Canadian federal and provincial governments restrict U.S. small businesses from selling into their public markets. Citing what he termed a commercial scam rather than true reciprocity, Trump declared that the exclusion will remain in place unless Canada restores complete fairness for American farmers and companies.
The Preceding Canadian Retaliation
The latest U.S. restrictions follow the implementation earlier Tuesday of retaliatory Canadian tariffs led by Mark Carney’s government. These Canadian countermeasures apply 15%, 25%, or 50% duties on approximately 20 billion dollars of U.S. goods—equaling 27.6 billion Canadian dollars—ranging from steel and electronics to pulp and dairy. Ottawa stated that the package matches, dollar for dollar, the value of Canadian products targeted by U.S. surtaxes since August 22.
Provincial measures have also tightened the trade friction. Ontario established an “Buy Canadian” directive in 2025 restricting public and broader public sector entities from sourcing from U.S. suppliers unless they represent the sole viable source or maintain at least 90 percent of their workforce in Canada. Meanwhile, Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette announced Monday evening that the province’s government procurement center would suspend lowest-bidder rules to reserve tenders for businesses established within Quebec or Canada.
