·
8
September 2026:
President Donald Trump signed five
Proclamations under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in
response to Canada’s increased retaliation and alleged discrimination against
U.S. commerce.
·
Canada’s
latest retaliation:
o Canada imposed new
retaliatory tariffs on approximately US$20
billion of U.S. exports.
o Affected products include steel, dairy and agricultural
equipment.
o The move followed Canada’s
decision to break off trade talks with the U.S. the previous month.
·
New
import bans on Canadian products:
o The U.S. imposed import bans on certain Canadian
alcoholic beverages and other products in response to Canada’s
continued discrimination against U.S. alcoholic beverages.
o Similar import bans on certain Canadian dairy
products and other products were imposed because of Canada’s
continued discrimination against U.S. dairy exports.
o The affected products had
previously been subject to 50%
Section 338 tariffs under Proclamations 11046 and 11047.
·
Modification
of July 20 tariff measures:
o Certain products, including rock salt and cement,
have been removed
from the Section 338 tariff list.
o They are being replaced by
other products, including all-terrain
vehicles (ATVs) and additional dairy products.
o The changes are intended to
better offset the burden on U.S. commerce caused by Canada’s discriminatory
measures.
·
Effective
dates:
o Product additions and
removals:
effective 15 September
2026.
o Import bans: effective 29 September 2026.
·
Scope
of Section 338 measures:
o The tariffs apply to all covered Canadian goods,
irrespective of whether they qualify for preferential treatment under the USMCA.
o They apply in addition to Section 232 tariffs
imposed under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
·
Section
338 authorizes the President to exclude
foreign products from the U.S. market where a country maintains
or increases discriminatory practices against U.S. commerce.
·
The
White House says the latest action is intended to protect American farmers, manufacturers and
workers from Canada’s retaliation and discriminatory treatment.
·
Trump
is using tariffs and other trade measures to encourage reshoring of production and jobs
to the United States.
·
The
White House cites more than US$11
trillion in total investments since Trump returned to office,
including:
o Chobani: US$1.2 billion Pennsylvania
production plant.
o Rolls-Royce: US$1 billion investment in
Indiana.
o Octapharma: US$1.5 billion
biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in South Carolina.
·
The
President directed the U.S.
Trade Representative and GSA Administrator to remove
approximately US$50
billion of Canadian-origin products from the U.S. General
Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedules.
·
The
White House states that U.S. manufacturing activity expanded for the eighth consecutive month in August
2026, while July recorded the fastest manufacturing expansion
in more than four years.
·
The
latest measures represent a further
escalation of the U.S.–Canada trade dispute, combining:
1. Section 338 import bans
2. 50% Section 338 tariffs
3. Changes to the July 20
tariff product list
4. Exclusion of Canadian goods
from GSA procurement schedules
·
The
measures reinforce the Trump administration's strategy of using tariffs, import restrictions and
government procurement leverage to counter what it considers
discriminatory or non-reciprocal trade practices.
·
The
administration identifies Canada
and China as the only countries that have chosen retaliation
rather than negotiating trade arrangements with the U.S. over the past 18
months.
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Responds
to Canada’s Retaliation
September
8, 2026
COUNTERING CANADA’S
LATEST RETALIATION AGAINST AMERICAN EXPORTS: Today (08.09.2026), to address
Canada’s increased discrimination against U.S. commerce, President Trump signed
five Proclamations pursuant to Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to ban certain
products from Canada and modify the scope of the tariffs on certain Canadian products
previously announced on July 20, 2026. President Trump
is taking decisive and appropriate action to respond to Canada’s additional retaliation
and continued discriminatory treatment of crucial American exports.
·
After breaking off trade talks with the United States last month, today Canada
imposed new retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion of U.S. exports, including
steel, dairy, and agricultural equipment.
·
Because Canada maintained and in fact increased its discrimination against
U.S. commerce with respect to U.S. alcoholic beverages, President Trump, under Section
338, imposed import bans on certain Canadian alcohol and other products that were
subject to the 50 percent tariffs imposed under Section 338 in Proclamation 11046.
·
Moreover, because Canada maintained its discrimination against U.S. commerce
with respect to dairy, President Trump, under Section 338, imposed import bans on
certain Canadian dairy and other products of Canada that were subject to the 50
percent tariffs imposed under Section 338 in Proclamation 11047.
·
To offset the burden to U.S. commerce while better serving the public interest,
President Trump is also modifying the July 20, 2026 actions by removing certain
products, such as rock salt and cement, from the scope of the Section 338 tariffs
and replacing those products with new ones, ranging from all-terrain vehicles (ATVs)
to additional dairy products.
·
These Section 338 tariffs apply to all covered goods regardless of whether
a good originates under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and apply in addition
to tariffs imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
·
The import bans will take effect on September 29, 2026, and the product additions
and removals will take effect on September 15, 2026.
PROTECTING AMERICAN
WORKERS AND ENSURING FAIR TRADE: President Trump is taking decisive action to
address Canada’s additional and continued retaliation and discrimination against
U.S. commerce to protect American farmers, manufacturers, and workers.
·
Section 338 empowers the President to exclude products from entering the
U.S. market if a foreign country maintains or increases its discriminatory practices.
·
Based on Canada’s most recent escalation against U.S. alcoholic beverages,
and continued retaliation and discrimination against U.S. commerce with respect
to U.S. dairy and motor vehicles, President Trump has determined that it is necessary
and appropriate to ban certain Canadian products from entering the U.S. market.
·
President Trump is also refining the scope of the July 20, 2026, actions
to better serve the public interest, and to ensure they continue to effectively
offset the burden or disadvantage to U.S. commerce from Canada’s discriminatory
measures.
·
The additional Section 338 import bans and tariffs imposed today on certain
Canadian products further safeguard American workers from Canada’s discriminatory
or unreasonable and unequal practices.
CONTINUING AMERICA
FIRST TRADE POLICY: President Trump is using all the tools at his disposal to restore reciprocity
in our bilateral trade relationships and protect the economic prosperity and national
security of the American people.
·
By imposing tariffs to address non-reciprocal foreign trade practices, President
Trump is incentivizing companies to reshore jobs and production
lines back to American soil. Recent new investments part of over $11 trillion in total investments since President
Trump returned to office include:
o American yogurt
maker Chobani is investing $1.2 billion into a production plant in Pennsylvania,
with plans to launch a new high-protein milk next summer.
o British automaker
Rolls-Royce completed a $1 billion investment into its Indiana facility that tests
and builds engines for the U.S. Air Force.
o Swiss pharmaceuticals
company Octapharma is investing $1.5 billion to establish
its first U.S. biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in South Carolina.
·
In August 2026, for the eighth consecutive month, economic activity in manufacturing
continued to expand under President Trump’s leadership, and in July 2026, U.S. manufacturing
activity expanded at its fastest pace in over four years.
·
Additionally, the President has directed the U.S. Trade Representative
and the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) to remove $50
billion dollars’ worth of Canadian-origin products from GSA’s Multiple Award Schedules.
·
While President Trump continues to lock in fair and reciprocal trade deals
with nearly twenty trading partners across the globe, Canada continues to retaliate
against the United States for its efforts to correct trade imbalances and protect
American workers, farmers, and businesses.
·
Over the past year and a half, only two countries have chosen to retaliate
against President Trump’s tariffs rather than negotiate a deal with the United States:
The People’s Republic of China and Canada.
·
Today’s action reflects President Trump’s continued efforts to defend American
workers and ensure fair trade, offsetting the burden and disadvantage on U.S. commerce
from Canada’s discriminatory treatment.