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The trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa took a new escalation step on Tuesday, as the United States closed its doors to a group of Canadian products, most notably alcoholic beverages.
The US ban on these products came into effect on Tuesday at 00:01 (04:01 GMT).
This measure targets all types of alcoholic beverages, whey (a highly sought-after protein made by processing milk), and large motorcycles exceeding 800 cubic centimeters, which can compete with American Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
The White House announced this measure on September 8, after Ottawa imposed new tariffs on American products in response to additional tariffs imposed by Washington on Canadian exports.
US President Donald Trump said from his office in the White House on Monday, "The problem is that (the Canadians) treated the United States absolutely unfairly."
He added, "They acted like one of the worst countries in the world (...) We get along well with China, we get along well with people, and we make good agreements, but dealing with Canada turned out to be very difficult."
Also, on September 8, the US administration raised tariffs on a series of Canadian products, including cheeses.
A few days later, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney considered the new US measures to be "relatively modest" overall.
Trump justified the ban on importing alcoholic beverages by the boycott he described as "discriminatory" of American alcoholic beverages in Canada.
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