US ban on Canadian alcohol, dairy and motorcycles comes into effect, covering nearly C$1bn of imports, as US-Canada trade war escalates

A US import ban on Canadian alcoholic beverages, whey dairy products and motorcycles came into effect on 29 September, covering close to C$1 billion (approximately $710 million or £530 million) worth of goods the US imported from Canada in 2025. The ban was first announced by President Donald Trump through executive orders signed on 8 September, framed as a response to Canada's own tariffs on US goods following a breakdown in trade talks. Approximately 93% of Canadian spirits were sold to the United States in 2025, making the ban potentially significant for Canadian distillers. However, exemptions exist for whisky and liqueurs shipped in containers larger than four litres, which will face neither a ban nor tariffs, giving some large-volume shippers a potential workaround at the cost of rebottling expenses. Trump is invoking Section 338 of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 to impose the bans, a provision allowing the president to restrict imports from countries found to discriminate against US commerce. No president before Trump has used the provision in this way, and courts have not previously ruled on what the administration must demonstrate to satisfy its requirements. Canada has indicated it does not plan to retaliate further in the near term. The US has separately imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian dairy, alcohol, steel and aluminium products, and 25% tariffs on Canadian-built cars, while Canada has placed retaliatory tariffs of between 15% and 50% on more than 700 US products.