By Reena Bhardwaj

Washington, DC [US], September 9 (ANI): The United States has announced a fresh round of trade measures against Canada, banning several categories of imports and reshuffling existing tariffs after Ottawa imposed its own retaliatory tariffs on American goods.

Speaking to reporters on a background call, a senior US official said President Donald Trump had signed a series of proclamations under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a rarely used law that lets Washington ban imports from countries it says are treating US trade unfairly.

The measures move on three fronts. Canadian dairy products, most alcoholic beverages and motorcycles will now be barred from entering the US, with the bans due to take effect in roughly three weeks. Alongside this, Washington has reshuffled an earlier round of tariffs dated July 20: goods such as cement, road salt and certain medical supplies have been taken off that list, while new tariffs have been added on items including all-terrain vehicles, certain cheeses and motorboats. These changes take effect within a week. Separately, the administration has instructed federal procurement agencies to begin removing Canadian-origin goods from a government purchasing list worth an estimated USD 50 billion.

A previously announced threat to raise tariffs on Canadian cars and metals to 50 per cent from January 1 remains in place, officials confirmed.

According to the US side, Canada and China were the only two economies that responded to Washington's tariff push with retaliation of their own, rather than negotiating. Officials pointed out that dozens of other economies, Japan and the European Union among them, struck deals instead of retaliating.

The official argued that Canada's provinces had set a precedent by pulling US alcohol off shelves and restricting American firms from provincial procurement markets early in the trade dispute, and that this, rather than the tariffs themselves, is what triggered the ban authority under Section 338. 

For Indian exporters and trade watchers, the episode is a case study in how Washington's current trade strategy sorts countries into two camps: those that negotiate and those that retaliate. India has largely avoided the latter path, choosing instead to pursue a bilateral trade agreement with Washington even as tariff talks with the US have run in parallel with disputes over energy purchases from Russia.

Officials also downplayed concerns raised by some US lawmakers that the dispute could hurt Republican prospects in the coming midterm elections, saying the goods targeted make up a negligible share of overall US consumption.

The official also said the US had held what could be called constructive conversations with Canadian Minister Dominic LeBlanc in recent days, and expected further talks, though no timeline was given for resolving the dispute before the new bans take effect. Asked about a separate threat to restrict Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier, the official said no decision had yet been finalised. (ANI)