WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed orders Monday to hammer certain Canadian products with 50 per cent tariffs, escalating trade tensions with the United States’ northern neighbour.
“President Trump took decisive action to hold Canada accountable for its retaliation and discrimination, delivering on his promise to correct trade imbalances and ensure fairness for American workers, farmers, and businesses,” United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.
The new tariffs are set to come into force in 30 days on a wide array of goods, ranging from hockey sticks to wine to cement.
Greer said the measure is a response to provincial bans on U.S. liquor, Canada’s supply managed dairy system and quotas on certain U.S. vehicles.
A senior White House official, who spoke to reporters on background on condition they not be named, said that, unlike many of Trump’s other tariffs, the new duties will have no exemptions for goods compliant under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA.
The officials said the new tariffs will not apply to energy, potash, fish, critical minerals or other goods already being slammed by Trump’s separate sector-specific tariffs on steel, aluminum, automobiles and cabinetry.
Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he spoke with Trump Sunday and they had a “conversation more broadly strategically about trade and where that’s going.”
“Yes, there are issues between us,” he said. “We have very positive issues with a series of other countries that we are pursuing. First and foremost, what we are doing is building this country strong.”
The White House official repeated a Trump administration talking point claiming that only two countries have retaliated against U.S. tariffs: China and Canada.
Canada imposed wide-ranging retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump’s tariffs last year. It has since rolled back many of those duties in an effort to smooth trade relations.
Separately, several Canadian provincial liquor boards stopped purchasing American alcohol last year in response to Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexation.
While Saskatchewan and Alberta have returned American booze to the shelves, major purchasing provinces like Ontario and Quebec have not resumed stocking U.S. alcohol.
The provincial liquor bans have been a thorn in the side of the Trump administration and many Republican lawmakers. The White House said Monday that from March 2025 through February 2026, Canadian imports of U.S. alcoholic beverages decreased by about 81 per cent compared to the same time period the year prior.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said he’ll keep liquor off the shelves until CUSMA is renewed.
The Trump administration said earlier in July that it was not renewing the trade pact, triggering rolling annual reviews for up to 10 years, at which point CUSMA would expire unless an extension is agreed to.
Ford remained defiant Monday in response to the increasing tariff threats.
“I’ll never stop fighting to protect Ontario,” Ford posted on social media. “If these tariffs proceed, Canada should respond tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar.”
Chris Swonger, president of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said they hoped the issue could be resolved without further escalation. In an emailed statement, Swonger said the new tariff “deepens trade tensions and raises the risk of further retaliation.”
Trump’s 25 per cent automobile tariffs have been hammering the Canadian industry, particularly in Ontario. But the White House criticized Ottawa’s decision to impose tariff-free quotas on imports of vehicles from the United States built by automakers that were moving production out of Canada.
“Canada also administers these quotas in a way that compels U.S. auto companies to invest in production in Canada instead of the United States,” the White House fact sheet said.
Canada’s supply managed dairy system has long been an irritant in the Canada-U.S. trade relationship. The White House accused Canada’s tariff-rate quotes on U.S. cheese of being more restrictive than those on similar imports from the European Union.
It had been rumoured for months that the Trump administration would use Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to implement the new duties — even though the law has never been used for that purpose.
The White House said Section 338 empowers the president to impose tariffs when a country puts U.S. exporters at a disadvantage relative to exporters in other countries.
The White House official said the statute doesn’t specify conditions that would require the duties to be removed but added the Trump administration is taking it one step at a time.
These tariffs are not connected to Trump’s recent threat to hit Canada with higher tariffs because of wildfire smoke. It is also different from the Trump administration’s investigation into forced labour in supply chains which could also result in new duties.
CUSMA was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. The sometimes volatile negotiations were a key test for Ottawa but ultimately an agreement was reached that was praised by all three countries.
Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said they “knew this would get bumpier before landing.” In an emailed statement, Laing said it is a “regrettable escalation” but Canada has 30 days before the tariffs come into place.
“Both sides need to use this window to make meaningful progress in advancing formal talks,” she said. “There are important discussions to get to that will strengthen not threaten our shared prosperity.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2026.
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
