President Trump retaliated against Canada’s counter-tariffs on $20 billion worth of U.S. imports by banning $1 billion worth of Canadian products.
Published September 29, 2026
The United States has implemented a ban on nearly $1 billion in imports from Canada, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles.
The ban took effect early Tuesday and is likely to further strain already strained relations between the two countries.
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Ottawa and Washington, DC are long-standing allies and trading partners, with approximately $880 billion worth of two-way trade taking place annually. That relationship changed forever during President Donald Trump’s second term, when he imposed tariffs on most trading partners, including Canada, and called the country’s northern neighbor the nation’s 51st state.
Most recently, on August 22, the United States imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, including dairy products and motorcycles, following a breakdown in trade negotiations. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney retaliated, saying Ottawa would match the U.S. tariffs “to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses.” Canada imposed tariffs of 15%, 25%, and 50% on similar amounts of U.S. exports.
Tuesday’s ban was President Trump’s punishment for Canada’s retaliatory tariffs.
“The impact of a ban like this would be minor,” Gary Shields, a professor at Wayne State University’s School of Business, told Al Jazeera. “We have hundreds of billions of dollars of trade with Canada, and the impact would be only $1 billion.” “But it’s rather surprising how President Trump treated our Canadian and European allies while rolling out the red carpet for the Chinese dictator during his visit to the United States last week.”
“This is tit-for-tat. It’s not going to cut people’s taxes, it’s not going to put money in their pockets. It’s kind of personal, it’s a way to show toughness,” Shields added.
Canada’s economy grew an estimated 0.2 per cent in August after being flat in July, according to Statistics Canada. However, Michael Davenport, senior economist for Canada at Oxford Economics, said in a note provided to Al Jazeera that new tariffs in the U.S. and Canada, tightening fiscal conditions and population decline will slow growth further into late 2026 and early 2027.
