Trump bans Canadian liquor, dairy and large motorcycles as trade dispute deepens

Washington: US President Donald Trump has ordered sweeping import bans on a wide range of Canadian alcoholic beverages, dairy-related products and motorcycles with engines over 800cc, marking a sharp escalation in the trade confrontation with Ottawa.

The prohibitions, set out in a series of White House proclamations issued on Tuesday, will take effect at 12.01am Eastern time on 29 September. Canadian goods imported before that date but not yet cleared for consumption will continue to face the existing 50 per cent duty imposed under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

A senior administration official told reporters the measures were intended to counter Canadian retaliation, protect US production and restore what the White House views as a level playing field. The official said the bans would affect Canadian trade in the “single-digit billions” of dollars, while changes to the existing tariff list would not significantly alter the roughly $20 billion in trade already covered by those duties.

“The actual economics of it is much more challenging for Canada than it is for us,” the official said, arguing that the targeted goods accounted for about 0.1 per cent of overall US consumption.

The banned alcoholic beverages include packaged beer, sparkling wine, cider, sake, whisky, bourbon, rum, gin, vodka, tequila, brandy, liqueurs and other spirits. Non-alcoholic beer is also covered.

On the dairy side, the prohibitions extend to whey protein concentrates, modified whey, fluid whey, dried whey and several forms of molasses. A separate proclamation bars Canadian motorcycles and cycles fitted with engines exceeding 800cc.

Alongside the bans, Trump modified the range of Canadian products subject to the existing 50 per cent duties, with those changes due to take effect on 15 September. The revised list adds several categories of paper, iron and steel structures, aluminium products, metal fittings, golf carts, small motor vehicles, outboard motorboats, furniture, mattresses and lamps, as well as certain cheeses not made from cow’s milk.

At the same time, the administration removed salt, Portland cement, refined lead, certain household paper products, switchgear assemblies and some fishing rod parts and accessories from the tariff list. The official said the adjustments reflected feedback from businesses after the earlier duties took effect, with some products excluded because parts of the United States had a unique dependence on Canadian supplies that could not easily be replaced.

The official also confirmed that Trump’s plan to raise tariffs on Canadian vehicles to 50 per cent on 1 January remained in effect. “The President's position on autos going up to 50 per cent on January 1st, that remains, that remains in effect,” the official said.

Despite the escalation, the White House said it remained open to negotiations. The official described recent conversations with Canadian officials as constructive and indicated that another discussion was expected within days. “Yes, that's always a possibility,” the official said when asked whether an alternative agreement could be reached.

Trump first imposed the additional duties under Section 338 through proclamations issued on 20 July. Their implementation was briefly suspended after Canada expressed a commitment to address the disputed measures, but the suspension expired on 22 August after the White House said Ottawa had failed to remove them. Section 338 allows the President to impose duties of up to 50 per cent and, under specified conditions, bar goods from a country that maintains discrimination against US commerce.

(Inputs from IANS)