The trade talks between Canada and the USA collapsed late Friday evening and the 3 day pause on the implementation of the tariffs expired. As of 12:01 on August 22, 50% tariffs are now in place for hundreds of products, including beverage alcohol. The US Customs announcement and list of tariff numbers and exemption is linked here for your reference. Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, stated that changes in the deal by the USA were not fair and the terms were not reliable, thus he suspended negotiations and headed back to Canada. He also advised that Canada would retaliate with tariffs at the same level on USA products. The collapse of negotiations may also impact the discussions on the USMCA, and the only certainty is a that we are entering a period of extended uncertainty in North American trading conditions. This news is unfortunate for USA beverage alcohol producers who were hoping to see products back on the shelves in Canada, as well as USA importers of Canadian alcohol products who have shipments en route to the USA and will now be paying a 50% tariff, with no exemption for USMCA eligible items. Should you have any questions on the tariff numbers impacted or implementation timing, please contact us at any time at info@wssa.com.