The US Ban on Canadian Imports: What's Actually Covered 

For an importer, that can mean having to make a much bigger change to its business. Instead of simply calculating a higher landed cost, the company may have to find another supplier, switch countries, change the product itself or look for a different tariff classification that legitimately applies.

For consumers, the effect may not be immediate. A retailer could have enough inventory to continue selling a Canadian product for weeks or even months. The bigger impact may appear later, when the retailer needs to replenish its stock and discovers that the Canadian supplier can no longer make the same shipment under the affected tariff line.

What isn't banned

This is probably the most important point for consumers: Canadian groceries have not been banned across the board.

Anything that isn't included in the specific list can still enter the United States, although it may be subject to other tariffs or trade restrictions.

Cheese is a good example. Cheese itself is not simply banned because it comes from Canada. However, on September 15, the United States expanded the 50% duty to certain cheeses and cheese substitutes, according to a Fastfrate trade bulletin. Other trade summaries also identified specialty cheeses among the products affected by the tariff changes.

The September 15 changes went beyond food. They also included products such as furniture, mattresses, lamps, and certain paper and metal products. At the same time, some products, including salt, rock salt, cement and refined lead, were removed from the relevant tariff coverage.

This is why looking only at a product's everyday name can be misleading. Two products may both be described as "cheese," "paper" or "metal products," but their customs treatment can be different depending on the exact tariff classification.

For companies importing goods from Canada, the practical lesson is simple: don't assume that an entire product category has been banned just because one item in that category appears on the list. Importers need to check the specific tariff classification that applies to their product.

Why Canadian products are still on store shelves

If the restrictions started on September 29, people might reasonably ask why Canadian whisky, beer or other affected products can still be found in American stores.

The answer is inventory.