US bans Canadian alcohol, motorcycles and dairy products as trade spat escalates

The United States banned a broad swath of Canadian alcoholic beverages, motorcycles and dairy products from import on Tuesday, sharply escalating an already acrimonious trade spat. The import bans, which go into effect on September 29 and were published on the White House's website, came after Canada's own retaliatory tariffs on US goods took effect after midnight on Tuesday. Those Canadian levies themselves followed 50% tariffs that the United States imposed on some $20 billion of Canadian goods last month, after several rounds of negotiations collapsed. The breakdown has widened a rift between the longtime allies, who have blamed each other for the failed talks, spurred Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to urge a further shift away from Canada's biggest trading partner, and cast doubt on the viability of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. "We have everything we need to pivot and prosper," Carney said on Tuesday in a video posted on YouTube. Read moreCanada's counter-tariffs take effect on several US goods as trade war reignites "That pivot will come at a cost. There's always a cost to action. But it doesn't come close to the cost of standing still," he said. The US bans appeared t...