Trump Bans Canadian Liquor, Dairy, Motorcycle Imports

The Numbers

The bans so far cover just under $1 billion of Canadian imports, according to the Atlantic Council's Geoeconomics Center — a sliver of the $382 billion in Canadian goods the U.S. imported in 2025.

The U.S. ran a $27.3 billion trade deficit with Canada last year, a gap explained almost entirely by oil: Canada shipped more than $85 billion in crude south in 2025, and Midwest refineries are built for Alberta's heavy sour crude. "It's the only oil they can use," Appleton said. "They can't use Texas crude. They can't use Venezuelan crude."

Before the blowup, Canada's effective tariff rate on U.S. imports was about 2.4%, less than half the 5% the U.S. charged Canada, per Oxford Economics calculations.

The Dairy Fight

Canada does shield its dairy industry, imposing tariffs above 200% on most dairy products and near 300% on butter once quotas are exceeded, according to University of Wisconsin dairy markets specialist Leonard Polzin. Robert Lighthizer, Trump's first-term trade representative, wrote in his 2023 memoir that the system "would make a Soviet commissar blush."

But Trump's claim Tuesday that "Canada doesn't let our Great Dairy Farmers sell into the Canadian Market" is false, The Independent reported. The U.S. exported $1.3 billion in dairy to Canada last year while importing $585 million, USDA figures show, and U.S. dairy exports north rose more than 11% last year after an 8% increase in 2024.

Who Needs Whom

Canada sends roughly 70% of its exports to the United States, and trade equals 64% of its economic output versus 25% for America — leverage Trump is counting on. But U.S. farmers buy Canadian potash, northern border communities run on Canadian electricity, and the USMCA auto industry straddles all three North American countries.