James is fond of Bourbon, the American whiskey made on corn. – Now there is no more bourbon on me, he states when news meets him outside a supermarket in the border town of Windsor. The shelves of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) are empty of the favorite drink. Cleared away because of the customs war that has arisen between Canada and the United States. James misses Bourbon, but would like to punish Donald Trump. Photo: Tove Bjørgaas / news Bad atmosphere across the border The mood between the two neighbors is, to say the least, tense. Claims, threats and tariffs have more or less hail in recent weeks. On Saturday, February 1, Donald Trump notified 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods imported to the United States. The exception is oil, natural gas and electricity, which had a reduced rate of 10 per cent. Canada responded with the same coin and put 25 percent tariff on US goods. On Tuesday, March 4, tariff increases were to take effect, but just hours before the deadline, the increases were mutually postponed one month. On Thursday, January 6, another postponement was followed, now for goods coming under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the trade agreement that Trump himself signed in 2020 during his first presidential term. On Wednesday, March 12, it was ready for the American Metal Council. All steel and aluminum- including products such as nuts and soft drinks and beer boxes- now have a 25 percent tariff. Canadian companies are affected extra hard, 60 percent of the US import of aluminum and over 20 percent of steel comes from Canada. On Thursday, March 13, Canada responded, with 25 percent tariffs on even more products from the United States. It applies to everything from steel and aluminum products, sports equipment and computers to rocks and valleys and fun parks. On Wednesday, April 2, the delay period expires, and no one knows exactly what awaits. The Canadian government has promised to answer “dollars for dollars, percent for percent”. The US president replies that he will “retaliate the retaliation of others”. Canada is America’s largest supplier of steel and aluminum. The country has many large steel works, one of which is Arcelormital Dofasco in Hamilton, Ontario, which has 4,500 employees. Photo: Nathan this / AP / NTB out of the shelves It was province leader Doug Ford, who last week ordered American beer, wine and spirits out of the shelves of the Canadian Vinmonopoly Stores in Ontario. Ontario, with its over 14 million inhabitants, is the most populous province in Canada and where the cities of Toronto and Ottawa are located. Ontario leader Doug Ford holds a press conference on March 10, after US President Donald Trump announced new customs measures. Photo: Katherine Ky Cheng / AFP / NTB – This will be a powerful blow to American producers, Ford said when he announced the clearing. The provincial leader was formerly Trump supporter, but has turned. Every year, alcoholic beverages from the United States are sold for close to a billion Canadian dollars through LCBO. Several provinces have been following Ontario. In addition, Quebec has told alcohol distributors to stop selling alcohol from the United States to shops, bars and restaurants. In British Columbia, they will stop buying beverages from the states that voted for Trump during the election last year. – Is there a Canadian substitute for the American whiskey? asks news James. – No, I don’t like whiskey, I like Bourbon. But now I’m just not going to drink it. I don’t need it, he says, laughing. The poster in front of the shelves at Liquor Control Board of Ontario in the border town of Windsor leaves little doubt about what the Canadian authorities think about the US trade war. Photo: Arlyn Mcadorey / Reuters / NTB stays away from the United States at the same time he is worried. Concerned about the serious crisis the Trump administration applies to Canada. James is an American and has retained his citizenship, although he has long been living in neighboring countries. He voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the November presidential election. Now he stays away from the Fatherland. – My wife and I do what we can for now just buy only Canadian goods. And we do not intend to go on vacation to any place in the United States, he says. Many Canadians do as James. They drop the trip across the border. In couple or three weeks, travel bookings have fallen by 20 percent compared to last year, according to an analysis Reuters news agency refers. And they have changed shopping. More or less organized boycotts of US goods have been started, and it is not just American alcoholic beverages that disappear from the store shelves. It also does not help the neighborhood that Donald Trump is constantly expressing that Canada should be the US 51. Last repeated during the customs quarrels this week. The trade war between USA-Canada has also moved into the ice halls. “Canadian hamburgers are better,” one could read during a match that took place in Halifax in the province of Nova Scotia last week. Photo: Darren Calabrese / AP / NTB will lower the temperature Canada has chosen to complain about the United States to the World Trade Organization (WTO) because of the Metal Tubus, and believes the US administration breaks the rules they are obliged to follow. Canadian energy minister Jonathan Wilkinson tells Reuters that it may be appropriate to reduce oil exports to neighboring countries or to add export taxes on minerals. Earlier this week, Ontario leader threatened to introduce an extra power tax and possibly cut the power that the province’s power companies deliver to the US states Minnesota, New York and Michigan. US Minister of Commerce Howard Lutnick ended up inviting Washington Canadians “to reduce the temperature”. According to Doug Ford, the discussions took place in the night of Norwegian time in quiet forms. Join the meeting in the US capital were Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc and Minister of Industry François-Philippe Champagne, both of which have long experience with international trade. Including Prime Minister Mark Carney during the visit to Dofasco Stålverk in Hamilton in Ontario on March 12. Photo: Carlos Osorio / Reuters / NTB Prime Minister with Central Bank Preview On Friday, Mark Carney takes over as prime minister after Justin Trudeau. Trudeau, who has ruled the country for over nine years, has been one of Donald Trump’s regular shooting discs. In recent months, the US president has called him “governor” instead of prime minister, based on the rhetoric of wanting Canada as an American state. The new prime minister has a long background and has been the head of both the British and Canadian central bank. He received a lot of praise after Canada’s economy recovered faster than many others after the financial crisis in 2008. In 2013, he became the first without British citizenship to lead the Bank of England, since the bank was established in 1694. The experienced economist has already promised Trump battle for customs duties. “The United States should not believe anything else, in trade as in ice hockey, Canada will win,” Carney said this weekend. He has also made it clear that Canada remains Canada. Published 14.03.2025, at. 13.58
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