Spots 
Washington — U.S.-Canada relations, already tense, are likely to deteriorate further after the United States went ahead early Tuesday with a decision to ban nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian imports, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles.
The ban amounts to barely a ripple in $880 billion worth of a two-way annual trade between the two northern neighbors, but marks another ratcheting up of President Trump's second-term trade war with America's longtime ally and trading partner.
The import ban "certainly won't do anything to help the trade tensions between the United States and Canada,'' said trade attorney Patrick Childress, a partner at Holland & Knight and a former U.S. trade official.
The latest sparring began over the summer when Mr. Trump reached back to a Great Depression law to impose 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, charging that Canada discriminates against U.S. dairy, auto and alcoholic beverage producers. Canada promptly counterpunched with tariffs of 15%, 25% or 50%, matching U.S. imports dollar for dollar.
To punish Canada for retaliating against his tariffs, Mr. Trump decided to ban a list of Canadian products, effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday.
The economic impact is likely to be minimal. Childress noted that the products on the banned list were already facing Mr. Trump's tariffs. "For a lot of these goods, the 50% was already acting as a de facto ban by making importation from Canada into the United States uneconomical,″ he said.
Jacob Jensen, director of trade policy at the center-right American Action Forum think tank, calculates that the ban would cover $967 million worth of Canadian imports, based on 2025 numbers. Of that, 87% would be alcoholic beverages that the U.S. targeted because of some Canadian provinces responding to Mr. Trump's provocations by banning U.S. booze from store shelves. Those beverages include beer, many types of liquor, sparkling wine, brandy and sake.
Also banned are some dairy products - including the milk byproduct whey. The two countries have long clashed over Canada's attempts to protect its dairy industry from foreign competition by imposing hefty tariffs once dairy imports have exceeded a quota.
The ban also covers motorcycles. Bombardier Recreational Products in Quebec (BRP) confirmed that its three-wheel Can-Am Spyder and Canyon motorcycles "will be excluded from importation into the U.S.'' But BRP said the impact likely won't be felt until next year because it has completed most production and shipments for the current season.
"This marks yet another escalation in the trade war that may result in further retaliation on the Canadian side," Jensen said. He expects Canadian exporters and U.S. importers "impacted by these bans will be highly motivated'' to demand that trade officials on both sides find some way to reach a "resolution of this whole ordeal.''
Washington — U.S.-Canada relations, already tense, are likely to deteriorate further after the United States went ahead early Tuesday with a decision to ban nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian…