On Monday, the White House announced a new round of tariffs on specific goods from Canada. Using a nearly 100-year-old law, the president signed three proclamations to impose additional 50% tariffs on certain goods imported from Canada in response to Canadian trade policies regarding vehicles, alcohol and dairy products.
- Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 allows for tariffs of up to 50% on imports from specific countries.
These new tariffs will take effect in 30 days – on Wednesday, August 19 – and will apply the maximum rate to all covered products, regardless of eligibility under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The U.S. declined to renew the trilateral agreement reached under the first Trump administration earlier this month, triggering a new round of negotiations and uncertainty. That means goods that previously entered the U.S. market duty-free under USMCA will now be hit with a 50% tariff.
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- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decried the new duties as “the latest … in a series of tariffs in direct violation” of the USMCA.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada should retaliate, fanning the flames of a potential flare-up in the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and its northern neighbor.
- A Trump administration official said the president has also suggested additional tariffs on Canada due to poor air quality in Midwest and mid-Atlantic states from the wildfires in Ontario.
Current Canada Tariffs
Active tariffs include 15% to 50% on Canadian steel, aluminum and copper; a 35% tariff on lumber; and a 25% tax on non-U.S. auto parts. It’s unclear so far exactly what product categories will be subject to the new 50% levies, but the White House fact sheet says the new levies will apply to “products ranging from wine to hockey sticks to cement.”
- Apparel – consistently among the most popular product categories in branded merchandise – appears to be part of the 50% tariff.
“This can be an opportunity for Canadian producers if they can ship orders within the next 30 days,” says Ira Neaman, MAS, founder, president & executive chairman of Vantage Apparel, PPAI 100’s No. 14 supplier. “Otherwise the tariffs, if anything, generally prove to be disruptive and costly based on the uncertainty created, and, of course, subject to change in a moment’s notice and/or challenged in the courts.”
Ira Neaman, MAS
Founder, President & Executive Chairman, Vantage Apparel
This latest announcement comes on the heels of new 25% duties on many imports from Brazil starting July 22, and additional Section 301 tariffs on imports from 60 countries is expected any day.
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“We are in the process of reviewing with legal and customs officials on this to determine our exposure,” says Samantha Kates, PPAI Board member and president of Spector & Co., PPAI 100’s No. 24 supplier. “At this time, we do not believe this will be too impactful on most of our items but understand some of our Canadian-made items may be affected. We will be monitoring closely over the next few weeks.”
PPAI’s Perspective
PPAI took two separate groups to Capitol Hill this April to discuss the impacts of economic uncertainty caused by rapid changes in trade policy throughout 2025:
- First, a dozen PPAI 100 executives urged federal leaders to consider the effects of these policies and changes on industry companies and workers and requested that the administration take a more predictable approach with longer implementation timelines to help provide stability in pricing and operations.
- A few weeks later, almost 60 industry volunteers joined PPAI staff in our nation’s capital to ask for a clear and predictable trade policy and to educate lawmakers on how our global supply chain supports hundreds of thousands of American jobs.
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These latest tariff announcements are not the outcomes we hoped for, but PPAI will continue to monitor these developments, provide updates to members and work on behalf of the industry for more favorable policies.
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Please contact Rachel Zoch, CAS, PPAI’s public affairs manager, at rachelz@ppai.org if you have any questions about regulatory issues or government affairs.
