US/Canada: President Donald Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on a wide range of goods from Canada, including cement, for what he called ‘unequal treatment’ of US cars, dairy and alcohol. Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which permits a president to impose punitive tariffs of up to 50% against trading partners deemed to have ‘discriminated’ against US goods. It marks the law’s first known usage in nearly 100 years of existence, according to Reuters. The new tariffs will take effect in 30 days, or from 19 August 2026.
No more specific details were disclosed regarding the impact on the cement sector. Canada has a production capacity of 19Mt/yr and the US is its major export market, so major disruption is expected.