U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a sweeping ban on imports of Canadian alcohol, motorcycles and some dairy products as Washington ratchets up pressure in response to Ottawa’s latest countertariffs.
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Washington → issue → countertariffs
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump signed an order stopping the import of a broad range of alcoholic beverages, including beer sold in cans and bottles, rye whisky and many types of wine.
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Trump → sign → wine
He issued separate orders banning the import of whey protein, molasses and motorcycles.
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He → issue → protein
The measures, which are scheduled to take effect on Sept. 29, followed Canada’s decision on Tuesday to proceed with tariffs on $28-billion worth of U.S. products.
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which → schedule → products
Ottawa’s levies were “dollar-for-dollar” retaliation for a new round of U.S. tariffs that hit Canadian products last month.
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that → hit → products
The tit-for-tat tariffs, combined with more threats from Mr. Trump, amount to a major escalation in the trade war that has been ramping up since Ottawa walked away from the negotiating table last month.
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Ottawa → combine → table
In a video posted online on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney sought to rally Canadians behind the government’s decision to hit back against the U.S. while warning of tough times ahead.
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Carney → post → times
Prime Minister Mark Carney is warning Canadians that the country's pivot away from the United States will come at a cost, but that the alternative would be far worse.
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alternative → warn → cost
“I don’t believe in escalating the conflict.
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I → believe → conflict
That’s not constructive,” Mr. Carney said in the 15-minute video, which was full of historical references to past economic tensions with the United States and previous generations’ efforts to protect Canadian sovereignty.
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which → ’ → sovereignty
“But our tariffs are necessary to protect our workers, protect our companies and our communities.
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tariffs → protect → companies
We can’t let American goods into Canada tariff-free while they charge our companies to export.”
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they → let → companies
Alongside the outright bans on Canadian products, Mr. Trump also adjusted several existing tariffs on Tuesday, increasing levies on a number of cheese products, motorboats and paper products while removing them from cement, sugar and toilet paper, among other items.
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Trump → adjust → items
And he threatened in a social-media post to restrict Canadian companies’ ability to compete for certain U.S. government contracts.
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he → threaten → contracts
Mr. Trump said he would order the U.S. General Services Administration to remove Canadian products from its Multiple Award Schedule program, which government agencies use to purchase things such as information technology and office supplies.
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agencies → say → technology
Canada struck back at U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday with tariffs on about $28-billion worth of U.S. goods, in response to the latest round of tariffs on Canada.
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Canada → strike → Canada
So far, Mr. Trump’s pressure has backfired, strengthening support for Mr. Carney rather than forcing concessions.
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pressure → backfire → concessions
The GSA oversaw the procurement of around US$50-billion worth of goods and services from American and international vendors as part of that program in 2025.
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GSA → oversee → 2025
However, not all U.S. government procurement happens this way, said Ted Murphy, co-leader of the global arbitration, trade and advocacy practice at U.S. law firm Sidley Austin LLP.
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leader → happen → LLP
“It’s not like somebody buying 100,000 laptops; that might be a more direct procurement, you’re going to put out a more direct [request for proposal],” Mr. Murphy said in an interview.
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Murphy → ’ → interview
“Here it’s like somebody needs 12 laptops today, and they might need 25 laptops tomorrow, and they want to have people in the pipeline so they can basically go shopping.
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they → ’ → shopping
It’s like Amazon for government procurement.”
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It → ’ → procurement
Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, said in a social media post on Tuesday evening that he was in contact with his American counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
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he → say → counterpart
“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 wrote.
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he → engage → sovereignty
The Trump administration has long complained about Canada’s restrictions on dairy imports, which are part of the country’s supply-management system.
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which → complain → system
And over the past year, provincial restrictions on U.S. alcohol sales and measures to exclude U.S. companies from provincial government contracts have become major irritants for Washington.
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restrictions → exclude → Washington
Persuading Ottawa to change how it allocates dairy import licences and getting the provinces to back down on their alcohol bans and procurement restrictions were major U.S. goals in the trade talks that fell apart last month.
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that → persuade → talks
In return, Ottawa had been seeking lower tariffs on key Canadian industries, including steel, aluminum, automobiles and lumber, and to avoid additional tariffs.
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Ottawa → seek → tariffs
In his Tuesday video, Mr. Carney reiterated his argument about why Canada walked away from the negotiating table at the last minute.
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Canada → reiterate → minute
He said the U.S. wanted to introduce language that would have restricted Canada’s ability to make trade deals with other countries and to promote French content online.
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that → say → content
He also said the U.S. refused to extend tariff relief to Canadian mid- and heavy-duty trucks.
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U.S. → say → trucks
“The most fundamental issue is that the cumulative U.S. demands revealed that they wanted us to become even more reliant on them, not less,” Mr. Carney said.
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Carney → reveal → them
“In too many areas, they wanted dependency, not a true economic partnership.”
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they → want → dependency
Ottawa’s countertariffs, which came into force at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, apply to 629 U.S. products – everything from clothing and home appliances to metals and electronics.
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which → come → metals
Most of the tariffs are set at 25 per cent or 50 per cent, although a small number are set at a lower rate of 15 per cent.
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number → set → cent
The levies are designed to shore up the domestic Canadian market for companies that are losing market share in the U.S., while also putting pressure on politically important states ahead of the U.S. midterms in November.
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that → design → November
However, they also add another layer of complexity and cost for Canadian businesses, particularly manufacturers that may have trouble sourcing key inputs domestically.
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that → add → inputs
Mr. Carney acknowledged Ottawa’s decision to retaliate against the U.S. and to double down on efforts to diversify the country’s economic partnerships will be challenging.
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decision → acknowledge → partnerships
“That pivot will come with a cost.
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pivot → come → cost
There’s always a cost to action, but it doesn’t come close to the cost of standing still,” he said in the video.
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he → ’ → video
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
