US Bans Canadian Products              09/09 06:25

   The United States is banning the import of some dairy products and 
motorcycles from Canada along with most alcoholic beverages, the White House 
said Tuesday, as part of a trade war that shows little sign of cooling off.

   TORONTO (AP) -- The United States is banning the import of some dairy 
products and motorcycles from Canada along with most alcoholic beverages, the 
White House said Tuesday, as part of a trade war that shows little sign of 
cooling off.

   The ban will take effect Sept. 29 and comes after retaliatory tariffs 
promised by Canada kicked in earlier Tuesday on $20 billion in U.S. imports. 
Canada had responded to tariff moves by U.S. President Donald Trump after trade 
talks between the countries broke down last month.

   Trump also moved to shut Canadian products out of large, long-term U.S. 
government contracts and directed the U.S. General Services Administration to 
declare Canadian products ineligible for those contracts until Canada allows 
"full and fair reciprocity" for American products.

   Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada's strategy was about 
becoming more independent and vowed to speed those efforts. "It's about 
ensuring that no country can hold us hostage. And that we can live how we want 
to live," he said.

   The rupture has upended one of the world's closest relationships. On Aug. 
22, the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on about 5% of Canadian imports, charging that 
Canada had unfairly treated the American dairy, alcoholic beverage and auto 
industries.

   The U.S. and Canada have long sparred over trade, particularly Canada's 
protected dairy market and its subsidies for producers of softwood lumber. But 
they remained friends and staunch allies.

   Under Trump, U.S.-Canada relations have deteriorated rapidly. In addition to 
imposing tariffs on Canadian products, Trump has repeatedly made inflammatory 
comments about making Canada the 51st U.S. state. Carney came to power in a 
come-from-behind political victory last year by promising to stand up to him.

   Some Canadian provinces have banned the sale of U.S. alcoholic products -- a 
move that prompted the retaliatory U.S. ban on Tuesday on various Canadian 
wines and spirits. Also subject to the ban are some motorcycles and mopeds, 
dairy products, including whey, and various types of molasses.

   Canada is exploring ties with the European Union that could stop just short 
of membership, a Canadian official familiar with the discussions said.

   Options could include expanding existing agreements, negotiating a new 
treaty or creating other forms of cooperation. The official said Canada is 
already consulting provinces, territories and labor groups about what a deeper 
relationship with the EU could look like, but no model has been chosen.

   The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not 
authorized to discuss the talks publicly.

   Carney is due in Strasbourg, France, next week, where he will attend 
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's State of the European 
Union address Sept. 16 and address the European Parliament the following day.

   Canada looks beyond the US

   Carney acknowledged the trade actions would cause short-term pain but said 
they would push Canada to move faster on investment, infrastructure and trade 
diversification.

   "It was easy business, but it meant we relied too much on one economic 
partner," he said. "That time is over."

   More than 70% of Canadian exports still go to the United States, 
underscoring the scale of Carney's push to diversify trade. He said Canada's 
exports to other countries are rising sharply and are on track to double over 
the next decade.

   Canada retaliates as Trump responds

   Carney defended the retaliation, saying Canada could not let American goods 
enter tariff-free while Canadian companies face U.S. tariffs.

   Canada was not seeking to escalate the confrontation, he said, but the 
tariffs were necessary to protect Canadian workers.

   Carney said the larger problem was what Washington had sought in the failed 
negotiations.

   "The most fundamental issue is that the cumulative U.S. demands revealed 
that they wanted us to become even more reliant on them, not less," he said. 
"In too many areas, they wanted dependency, not a true economic partnership."

   The prime minister said Washington sought limits on French-language and 
cultural protections, influence over future trade deals and terms that would 
weaken the auto, steel and forestry sectors.

   How the trade war ends could carry consequences far beyond Canada, testing 
whether a smaller U.S. ally can resist Trump's economic pressure without being 
forced to yield.

   Earlier on Tuesday, a Canadian official said Ottawa did not intend to change 
course regardless of whether Trump responded with nothing or what the official 
called a "nuclear response." The government's strategy will remain focused on 
building more at home and diversifying trade abroad, the official said.

   The tariffs hit hundreds of American products, including steel, aluminum, 
cheese, appliances, clothing, cosmetics and farm equipment, at rates of 15%, 
25% or 50%. They cover about $20 billion in American goods, roughly 6% of the 
$333.6 billion the United States exported to Canada last year.

   Since Canada-U.S. trade talks collapsed Aug. 21, Trump and his 
administration have imposed additional tariffs and issued a series of threats 
and attacks portraying Canada as weak and dependent.

   Trump's trade war and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state have 
fueled anger across the country. Canadians have sharply cut travel to the 
United States and boycotted U.S. goods, moves Carney praised as signs of 
national resolve.

   British Columbia Premier David Eby said the province will install new signs 
at U.S. border crossings reading: "Welcome to British Columbia, Canada. Strong, 
proud and will NEVER be the 51st state. Sorry!"

   "While our kindness is one of our greatest strengths, you should never, ever 
mistake that kindness for weakness," Eby said.

   Neither side is rushing back to the table

   Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the government was assessing 
the latest U.S. tariff measures and that he remained in contact with U.S. Trade 
Representative Jamieson Greer, adding that Canada was ready to engage when 
Washington was.

   The senior Trump administration official who briefed reporters during a 
conference call late Tuesday that was arranged by the White House said U.S. and 
Canadian trade representatives have had "constructive conversations" and would 
speak again in coming days to see if there's a "path forward."

   Former U.S. trade official Wendy Cutler said Carney's public approval 
rating, now topping 70%, gives him little reason to restart talks.

   "Clearly, at this point each side does not want to look too anxious to 
reengage in fear of looking weak," she said.