BS BULLETIN:
- Hours after Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on roughly $20 billion in U.S. goods took effect Tuesday, President Donald Trump answered with new restrictions on Canadian products and access to U.S. government contracts.
- Trump ordered Canadian-origin products removed from the General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedules unless Canada provides what he called “full and fair reciprocity” for American companies. Those schedules cover more than $50 billion annually, according to the White House.
- The administration is also banning imports of certain Canadian dairy products, alcoholic beverages and motorcycles beginning Sept. 29 — turning yesterday’s Canadian retaliation into a rapidly escalating trade fight.
Canada hit. Trump hit back.
Just hours after Canada’s new retaliatory tariffs on approximately $20 billion worth of American goods took effect Tuesday, Trump announced a new round of measures targeting Canadian access to the U.S. market.
“From now on, NO RECIPROCITY – NO ACCESS!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday afternoon.
Trump directed the GSA, working with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, to remove Canadian-origin products from the federal government’s Multiple Award Schedules unless Canada restores what he described as reciprocal access for American farmers and businesses.
The president specifically accused Canadian governments — including provincial governments — of restricting American companies from government procurement markets while Canadian businesses enjoy broad access to government purchasing in the United States.
Trump called the arrangement a “Canadian Trade Scam.”
The White House subsequently confirmed the action and said the affected GSA schedules represent more than $50 billion in Canadian-origin products.
But Trump didn’t stop with government purchasing.
The administration also announced import bans covering certain Canadian alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles. Those bans are scheduled to take effect Sept. 29.
Additional changes to existing 50% tariffs on Canadian products take effect Sept. 15.
That makes this a genuine new development from the Canadian retaliation The Daily BS reported Tuesday.
Canada’s tariffs target hundreds of American products — including steel, aluminum, cheese, appliances, clothing, cosmetics and farm equipment — at rates ranging from 15% to 50%.
Prime Minister Mark Carney defended Canada’s retaliation Tuesday while arguing that the country must become less economically dependent on the United States.
“We relied too much on one economic partner,” Carney said. “That time is over.”
Neither side appears ready to retreat.
U.S. and Canadian trade representatives remain in contact and are expected to speak again in the coming days, according to the Associated Press. But for the moment, the tariff fight has moved beyond tariffs.
Canada restricted American goods.
Trump’s answer is increasingly: Then Canadian goods don’t get in.
The world’s friendliest border has apparently entered the “fine, take your cheese and go home” phase of negotiations.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- White House — Trump responds to Canada’s retaliation
- Associated Press — U.S. bans Canadian dairy, alcohol and motorcycles as trade war grows
- White House — Proclamation excluding certain Canadian products
- Mediaite — Trump responds with $50 billion procurement threat
- The Daily BS — Canada hits back at Trump with tariffs on $20 billion in U.S. goods
