The announcements came as Canada proceeded with imposing its previously announced counter-tariffs on US products on Sept. 8.
A truck crosses the Gordie Howe International Bridge, connecting Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, Mich., on July 28, 2026. Carlos Osorio/Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Sept. 8 to ban imports of certain Canadian goods into the United States, including most alcoholic products, certain dairy products, and motorcycles.
Earlier in the day, Trump also announced that he is restricting Canadian companies from certain U.S. government procurement contracts. The announcements came as Canada proceeded on Sept. 8 with imposing its previously announced counter-tariffs on U.S. products.
Trump signed five new executive orders on Sept. 8, imposing new 50 percent tariffs on some Canadian products and removing them on some others effective Sept. 15, and banning imports of certain Canadian products as of Sept. 29.
Among the newly banned Canadian products are certain alcoholic drinks including beer and various types of wines and spirits, non-alcoholic beer, whey products, and motorcycles.
Senior U.S. officials said the removal and addition of certain products from the 50 percent tariff list were done as part of “housekeeping,” and the overall value of Canadian goods subject to new 50 percent tariffs remains at around US$20 million. Some of the new products subject to the tariff include all-terrain vehicles, certain types of motorboats, and certain cheese products. Products removed from the list include cement, road salt, and certain hospital pads.
Canada also removed seafood from the list of products it had originally subjected to counter-tariffs after hearing from domestic industry players. It instead announced tariffs on other U.S. products to maintain the nearly US$20 billion value of its retaliatory tariff package.
The newly announced U.S. measures were signed pursuant to Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.
“Today’s action, combining targeted import bans as authorized by Section 338 and a calibration of the underlying Section 338 tariffs, is a natural consequence of Canada’s continued discriminatory treatment of crucial American exports, ranging from alcoholic beverages to dairy products to motor vehicles,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a Sept. 8 statement.
“President Trump will continue to leverage the tools at his disposal to defend the interests of American workers and exporters, and restore reciprocity in our bilateral trade relationships.”
Greer’s Canadian counterpart, Canada–U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, said Ottawa is assessing the latest U.S. measures.
“As has been the case for the last 18 months, our first priority remains on protecting and supporting Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses from these unjustified actions,” LeBlanc said on social media late on Sept. 8. “Our core focus is on what we can control: building strength at home, diversifying our partnerships abroad, and building Canada strong for all Canadians.”
He added that he is in contact with Greer.
“When the US is ready to engage, our government will work in good faith and constructively towards a more secure mutually beneficial trading relationship that fully respects Canadian sovereignty,” he said.
Tariff War
Canada’s 15 to 50 percent counter-tariffs on about US$20 billion worth of American products came as retaliation for the United States imposing new 50 percent tariffs on about the same amount of Canadian imports, which Trump had said were in response to Canada’s dairy supply management, provincial bans on alcohol, and counter-tariffs on autos.
The two sides had been negotiating a trade deal to avoid the new U.S. tariffs, but Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he told his team to abandon the deal on Aug. 21, accusing Washington of making unfavourable last-minute demands. Washington, for its part, blames Ottawa for the failure of the trade deal, saying it was Canada that made last-minute demands.
Since Canada first announced its intention to impose counter-tariffs in response to the new U.S. tariffs that came into force on Aug. 22, Trump also said he’s imposing new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian vehicles and auto parts beginning in 2027, and said he’ll ban the sales of products made by Canadian aviation giant Bombardier unless they’re made in the United States.
On Sept. 8, as he ordered the General Services Administration to ban Canadian-origin products from bidding on certain U.S. federal projects, Trump noted that some Canadian provinces and Ottawa are restricting U.S. companies from bidding on government projects, saying that it “is not reciprocity.”
“Canada has been ripping us off for years,” Trump said.
U.S. officials said on Sept. 8 they had told Ottawa that Washington would be implementing new measures to “level the playing field” once Canada imposes its counter-tariffs. They also said Canada and China are the only two countries that have retaliated against U.S. tariffs.
Carney said in a video message released on Sept. 8 that his vision of decreasing Canada’s dependence on the United States amid the trade tensions could mean that some tough times are ahead for Canadians.
“They were asking far too much and offering far too little,” he said of the negotiations he walked away from. ”Canadians have faced difficult stretches before, and what’s carried us through has never been any one measure.”