ع
President Donald Trump signed three proclamations on July 20 invoking Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 for the first time in nearly a century, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office reported. The duties apply to nearly $20 billion in annual imports from Canada, equivalent to about 5.2 percent of the $382 billion in goods imported in 2025 according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Targeted items range from wine, whisky and dairy products to hockey sticks, cement, furniture, fishing rods, seeds, clothing, wigs and synthetic materials, a Reuters assessment of the proclamations found. The tariffs hit goods even if they qualify for duty-free treatment under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, White & Case LLP noted in its review of the measures.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded that last-minute changes in the proposed U.S. terms were unfair, uneconomic and called into question the reliability of any deal, according to an account carried by The Associated Press. Carney added that his government would announce additional support for Canadian workers and businesses in the coming days. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that Canada declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week, with new demands and walk backs of other commitments by Canada upending the balance reached in recent days. Greer emphasized the administration’s focus on protecting American jobs, securing supply chains and encouraging manufacturing at home.
The proclamations cite three specific areas of Canadian discrimination, the White House release detailed. One addresses more favorable access granted to European Union dairy exporters than to U.S. producers in Canadian import quotas. Another points to retaliatory tariffs imposed exclusively on U.S. motor vehicles while sparing imports from other countries. A third highlights provincial and territorial boycotts of U.S. alcoholic beverages that do not apply equivalent restrictions to products from elsewhere.
Exemptions shield energy products, potash, critical minerals, fish and items already subject to Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, according to the proclamations. This selective approach avoids exacerbating fuel prices or disrupting fertilizer supplies for U.S. farmers and military materials, a senior Trump administration official told reporters. The motor vehicles proclamation covers 439 tariff classifications while the dairy and alcohol measures address narrower sets of headings, data compiled by Honigman LLP shows. Combined, the actions affected approximately $20 billion in trade value in both 2024 and 2025.
Bilateral trade frictions have persisted for decades over softwood lumber, dairy market access and automotive rules, Reuters background reporting noted. Canadian imports of U.S. motor vehicles dropped 22 percent or $5.6 billion from April 2025 through March 2026 while U.S. alcohol imports fell 81 percent or $582 million in a comparable period, administration figures indicate. The tariffs took effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Saturday after a three-day extension of the original deadline to permit further talks that ultimately proved unsuccessful.
A Canadian government source estimated the total value of impacted goods near $28 billion, CBC News reported. The measures mark an escalation in tensions that began earlier in the Trump administration with Section 232 actions on steel, aluminum and other sectors. Greer said the U.S. had offered Canada the best treatment of any major exporter but that Ottawa’s position shifted in the final hours.
