US President Donald Trump signed three proclamations on Monday, July 20, 2026, imposing an additional 50% tariff on a wide range of Canadian goods. One of them extends the duty to live plants, cut flowers, seeds, hops, herbs and lumber, not just the cars it nominally targets.
Key Facts
- Trump's new 50% tariffs on Canada take effect Aug. 19, 2026, regardless of USMCA status.
- Trump invoked Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act, a rarely used discrimination-based tariff authority.
- Nursery goods, cut flowers, seeds and lumber are bundled into the vehicle tariff proclamation, not a produce-specific one.
The announcement covers about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, according to DTN Progressive Farmer. Three separate Section 338 proclamations cover autos, alcohol and dairy respectively. The president retains authority to modify or suspend the tariffs before they take effect.
What's Covered Under the New Section 338 Tariffs
The White House's fact sheet on the three proclamations puts the following goods under the 50% tariff, effective Aug. 19, 2026:
- Dairy products, including cheese and powdered or concentrated milk and cream
- Alcohol
- Motor vehicles that do not qualify for USMCA preferential treatment
- Live plants, propagation material, cut flowers and ornamentals
- Seeds for planting, hops, herbs and specialty-use plants
- Lumber
- Hundreds of other materials and home goods, including hockey sticks and cement
The U.S. Trade Representative's office said the tariffs respond to three separate Canadian practices found to disadvantage American exporters.
Canada's tariff-rate quota system gives European Union cheese exporters more favorable access to the Canadian market than U.S. exporters get under the USMCA. Canadian retailers can draw on the EU's quota under the Canada-EU trade agreement but not on the comparable U.S. quota, Feedstuffs reported.
Canada has also maintained a 25% tariff on U.S. vehicle imports that do not qualify for USMCA preferential treatment since April 2025. Canadian provinces pulled American alcohol from store shelves last year after Trump's tariff threats and "51st state" comments. That boycott cut Canadian imports of U.S. alcoholic beverages 81%, from $718 million to $137 million, USTR reported.
Canadian imports of U.S. alcoholic beverages fell 81%, from $718 million to $137 million, DTN Progressive Farmer reported, citing USTR figures. The drop followed a boycott after several provinces pulled American alcohol from store shelves last year. That collapse, not a dispute over flowers or lumber, is what the new Section 338 tariffs are meant to offset.
Canada is the second-largest market for U.S. dairy exports, behind Mexico. U.S. dairy exports to Canada were valued at $1.31 billion in 2025, according to USDA Foreign Agricultural Service data.
The Section 338 statute lets the president raise duties on any goods from a country found to discriminate against U.S. commerce. That authority is not limited to the products tied to the specific complaint.
The administration used that latitude to route lumber, live plants, cut flowers, seeds, hops, herbs and other nursery and horticultural goods into the same proclamation that targets vehicles.
Why the Nursery and Cut Flower Tariffs Are Buried in the Vehicle Proclamation
The horticultural and lumber duties appear inside the motor vehicle proclamation rather than a produce-specific one.
Buyers and shippers of Canadian nursery stock, cut flowers and planting seed have no role in the dairy or auto disputes driving the tariffs. The 50% rate applies to them anyway, on top of whatever duty already applies under existing trade rules.
How Canada and the Dairy Industry Are Responding
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government remains ready to negotiate. "This trade dispute has raised costs for families, particularly in the U.S.," Carney said, according to the Associated Press.
Carney's government has signed more than 20 new economic and security partnerships since taking office, the AP reported. He said Canada is prepared to keep discussing the outstanding USMCA issues.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called for a proportional response if the tariffs take effect, according to the AP.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce took a harder line on cost. "Tariffs are taxes on growth," Daniel Tisch, the chamber's president and CEO, told DTN Progressive Farmer. He added that tariffs raise costs, disrupt supply chains, and delay investment on both sides of the border.
The National Milk Producers Federation and U.S. Dairy Export Council have pushed for years to challenge Canada's dairy quota system. Canada has never fully honored its USMCA market-access commitments, the two groups argue. "Canada simply cannot continue to discriminate against U.S. dairy farmers," said Gregg Doud, NMPF's president and CEO.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada continues to retaliate against U.S. trade actions, unlike other trading partners, according to Feedstuffs.