Some Canadian goods face Trump ban, 50% tariffs

The White House issued executive orders late Tuesday, September 8, banning imports of some Canadian products and raising tariffs on others as the US trade dispute with Canada widened.

A 50% surcharge will apply from September 15 to a range of Canadian goods including mattresses, motorboats and golf carts, one executive order by President Donald Trump stated.

Separate executive orders said import bans targeting various alcoholic beverages and some dairy products, including whey, will take effect on September 29.

One presidential action said some Canadian products will no longer be subject to the 50% tariffs that recently took effect after bilateral trade talks collapsed last month. The list of those products was described as shorter, with toilet paper among them.

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that Trump was acting to keep what the official called a level playing field, deter retaliation and protect American production.

The measures followed new Canadian tariffs on US products in response to duties Washington announced on August 22. The senior official said Canadians had been warned that their reaction would escalate the situation.

Trump cited what he called discriminatory provincial boycotts of US alcohol as justification for the alcohol import ban. Since the start of Trump's tariff offensive last year, US wines and spirits have disappeared from store shelves in most Canadian provinces, which hold monopolies on their sale.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump threatened to exclude Canadian products from a US government procurement program unless Canada restored what he called “full and fair reciprocity” for American farmers and companies. He said he was directing officials to remove Canadian-origin products from the General Services Administration's Multiple Award Schedules, a long-term contracting program that he said accounts for more than $50 billion a year.

US trade lawyer Ryan Majerus said the procurement move could widen the scope of affected goods beyond those already hit by tariffs.