Trump’s import bans on Canadian liquor, whey, motorcycles take effect

The trade restrictions could prove devastating for the affected industries but are unlikely to significantly undermine Canada’s overall economic growth in the near term.

Jacob Jensen, director of trade policy at the centre-right American Action Forum think tank, calculates that the ban will cover US$967 million worth of Canadian imports, based on 2025 numbers. Of that, 87 per cent would be alcoholic beverages the U.S. targeted because some Canadian provinces responded to Trump’s provocations by banning U.S. booze from store shelves.

The U.S.-based group Toasts Not Tariffs, which represents farmers, distillers, retailers, restaurants and bars, said in a statement Tuesday it appreciates the Trump administration’s efforts to encourage Canada to reopen its markets to American spirits and wine.

“However, as this ban on Canadian spirits and wines takes effect today, America’s restaurants, bars, retailers and consumers are being pulled further into a trade dispute that has already taken a significant toll on U.S. wine and spirits producers,” the group said, calling for a negotiated resolution to the dispute that restores sales on both sides of the border.

The ban also covers motorcycles. BRP Inc. in Quebec confirmed that its three-wheel Can-Am Spyder and Canyon motorcycles “will be excluded from importation into the U.S.’’ But BRP said the impact likely won’t be felt until next year because it has completed most production and shipments for the current season.

Official trade talks broke down down last month and both countries accused each other of adding eleventh-hour changes to the agreement.

Trump said Monday he expects Canada to return to the negotiating table in the coming weeks with an apology.

“I think what’s going to happen is over the next three or four weeks, they’re going to come to us and they’re gonna say, ‘We’re gonna get rid of all the tariffs,’” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“We’re going to win everything.”

In the hours after negotiations broke down in August, the United States hit an array of Canadian goods with 50 per cent tariffs. Ottawa responded with its own tariffs a few weeks later, targeting similar goods from the U.S. list.

Trump responded by signing an order directing some federal agencies to remove Canadian goods from procurement lists, and another to impose Tuesday’s import bans.

The president also signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, a move that does not effect how the name is referred to in Canada.

Canada is also being hit with 10 per cent tariffs, which the Trump administration claims are connected to forced labour in supply chains. Those duties do not apply to goods that comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA.

And Canadian industries like steel, aluminum, automobiles and cabinetry are being slammed by Trump’s separate sectoral tariffs.

Ontario, which is particularly hard-hit, expanded eligibility on Tuesday for a $1-billion financing program to provide loans to businesses affected by tariffs, and for a $150-million fund that provides grants or loans to small- and medium-sized businesses looking to find new markets.

Ontario’s Economic Development and Trade Minister Vic Fedeli said in a media statement the government is working to ensure businesses “are not only equipped to navigate the challenges of present day but can take the necessary steps to reduce long-term reliance on a single market and diversify their international exports.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press.

Companies in this story: (TSX:DOO) 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2026.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Trump’s import bans on Canadian liquor, whey, motorcycles take effect

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