CHICAGO, July 21, 2026 — President Donald Trump has imposed steep new tariffs on Canadian cheeses and alcoholic beverages, invoking a 96-year-old law that could be his justification for surcharging imports from elsewhere when most protective duties expire Friday.
Collection will begin on Aug. 19.
Trump said the 50% tariffs on selected imports from north of the border are necessary to offset efforts by Canada to discourage sales of American goods within its boundaries. Among the examples he cited was a decision by Canadian provinces in 2025 to halt the sale of U.S.-produced beer, wine and spirits in restaurants and retail stores.
Similar restrictions have not been imposed on products from other nations, according to the president.
Under a provision of the Tariff Act of 1930, the president has the authority to counter protective measures aimed solely at American goods with tariffs that jack up the price of the offending nation’s imports into the U.S. The justification, passed during a time of isolationist fervor in the lead-up to World War II, has seldom been exercised.
It remains to be seen if Trump will invoke the authorization, Section 338 of the Tariff Act, to replace the tariffs that expire July 24 with new protective duties. Those current surcharges, most at a level of 10%, have been struck down by a federal court as a misuse of presidential power. But they remain in place pending another appeal by the Administration.
The White House argued that the president could impose the 10% duties under the War Powers Act of 1974. The U.S. Court of International Trade disagreed, stressing that the nation was not at war with most of the nations that were affected.
In any case, the War Powers Act specifies that defensive actions by the president must cease if they are not sanctioned by Congress within 150 days. That deadline falls on Friday.
Trump invoked the War Powers Act after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that the president did not have the constitutional authority to impose protectionist tariffs arbitrarily and without the approval of Congress, as he had started doing in April 2025.
Those duties were protectionist by design, with rates ranging from 15% to 200%. Trump said the surcharges were necessary to close the nation’s international trade gap and to foster domestic production of goods that have traditionally been imported.
The charges significantly escalated the cost of many staple supplies used in the food-away-from-home industry. The pricing dynamics also discouraged the export into the U.S. of certain agricultural products that cannot be produced domestically because of growing conditions, such as cocoa, coffee and bananas.
The decisions by various federal courts haven’t dissuaded Trump from regarding tariffs as an essential tool in international relations. Before announcing the new duties on selected Canadian imports, the chief executive threatened to impose other surcharges as retribution for the blanket of smoke that blew down from forest fires north of the border and darkened American skies.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a sharp critic of Trump, has stated that he’s willing to meet in hopes of resolving the trade conflict.
Mexico is the only nation that conducts more business with the U.S. than Canada.
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.