A truck crosses from Canada to the United States on the Gordie Howe International Bridge, connecting Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, September 6, 2026.
Jeff Kowalsky | Afp | Getty Images
The White House on Tuesday banned imports of some Canadian vehicles, as well as dairy and alcohol products, as officials sent mixed signals on the prospect of a trade deal.
The long list of affected products includes motorcycles and mopeds with gasoline engines larger than 800 cc, whey and molasses products, and a host of alcoholic beverages – primarily those packaged for direct consumption – from beer and cider to wine, whiskey and vodka.
The American Action Forum estimates that these products total approximately $19.9 billion in Canadian imports.
The import ban, announced earlier this month by the Trump administration, is the latest step in a war of words – and tariffs – between the United States and Canada.
President Donald Trump said Monday he expected a “fair deal” with Canada in the coming weeks, while continuing to strike a combative tone.
“They’re taking advantage of us, they’re feeling entitled…they don’t have anything that we need,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“I think what’s going to happen is over the next three to four weeks they’ll come to us and say, ‘We’re going to get rid of all the tariffs.’ We’re going to win it all,” Trump said.
However, officials suggest little progress toward a deal.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC on Friday that there is “no urgency on our end” to make a deal and noted that the United States still has “a lot of other trade” with Canada.
“We still get what we need from them in terms of oil, gas, potash, all those things…so there’s still significant trade between the two countries,” Greer said.
“We don’t wait by the phone.”
Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said at a news conference Friday that the United States is “imposing illegal and unjustified tariffs on sectors of our economy that are causing significant hardship for businesses and workers across the country.”
LeBlanc said the countries were “talking about trying to find alternatives to the current circumstances” but that they were “not going to sign a deal that would be bad for Canada.”
“We have said we will sign an agreement when we believe there is one that is in the interest of Canada’s sovereignty and economy… but we are not waiting by the phone,” LeBlanc said.
Ottawa has not revealed any new retaliations since the announcement on September 9 of a ban on the importation of dairy products and alcohol.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has meanwhile spent the month seeking closer ties with the European Union as relations with the United States have grown strained, suggesting in a recent speech that the White House is “weaponizing” economic policy as a form of “coercion” on other nations.
Canada has imposed tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on a host of U.S. products worth C$27.6 billion, including steel, dairy, farm equipment, paper, appliances, furniture, clothing and electronics.
He said it was a “dollar-for-dollar” response to Washington’s 50% tariffs on products including cement, wine, hockey sticks and more, imposed in August.
The measures target a relatively small portion of the countries’ $715.5 billion in annual merchandise trade, but a continued escalation or prolonged standoff is expected to have a significant impact on sectors such as metals and autos, and harm small and medium-sized businesses on both sides of the border.
The Bank of Canada warned this month that the new tariffs had made the country’s growth prospects more uncertain and increased inflation risks.
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