Section 338 Tariffs and their hidden costs
Photo: BlatZzz License CC By-SA 3.0
On September 29, 2026 a United States ban on Canadian made motorcycles or cycle type vehicles goes into effect.
The Fact Sheet on Whitehouse.gov states that this action comes in response to Canada’s retaliatory actions* against the U.S. actions earlier this year, which Trump says came from unfair treatment due to the USMCA – the trade agreement that he proudly authored during his first term in the White House.
If you didn’t catch that, let’s back up a bit: It’s akin to a school bully pushing everyone around on the playground, and when he finally gets pushed back, now has justification to start a fight.
*(Canada did enact a 50% tariff on US Motorcycles over 800cc the day that the White House published the revised Fact Sheet.)
The ban specified motorcycles over 800cc. So, since Can-Am only has electric motorcycles right now, that means the ‘similar cycles with reciprocating internal-combustion engines over 800cc’ applies directly to Can-Am’s other wheeled offerings: The Spyder, Ryker and Canyon trikes.
Since a lot of US motorcycle riders often criticize the Can-Am trikes, you might think this is doing the riding community a favor. It has done quite the opposite. Many riders, even those who often take jabs at Can-AM trikes, have come together to offer support for the company. It seems that we’d rather have an ugly cousin to make of than not have a cousin at all.
On a more worrying side note, The White House fact sheet dated September 8, 2026 stated that President Trump was removing rock salt and cement from the Section 338 tariffs and replacing them with ATVs and all-terrain vehicles. That is a bit more significant, since it will greatly impact Can-Am directly/
The action affects the off-road community significantly, as Can-Am makes up a majority share of the US off-road sales second to Polaris with all other OEMs filling in the corners of the market. This could be a huge blow to the powersport owners who are already facing land sell-offs and closures by the administration as it is. It’s basically like banning Toyota and telling the off-road world that they have good ol’ Ford which, like Polaris, is built in Mexico depending on the model.
While the President claims that the tariffs are protecting Americans from unfair business practices, I think that the tariffs contain hidden costs that will be harmful in the long term for the USA and Canada, and more so – American consumers and dealers.
Increased cost of business, lack of products and inconsistent delivery of goods:
Since 2025 the price of auto repairs has gone up due to tariffs on our own domestic vehicle parts arriving from Canada or Mexico. Cement. lumber, steel and other manufacturing supplies received Trump’s tariffs as well increasing the cost of housing, general construction and manufacturing. You may remember the debacle with steel, aluminum and other metals being tariffed and requiring the OEMs to disclose what plants and what percentage metals their motorcycles were constructed from. KTMs received a 15% EU tariff while the motors in the units saw separate, much higher tariffs because they were constructed by CF Moto or Bajaj in China or India respectively.
For now, our poutine-eating friends in the north will have to weather the storm just as summer is ending, and desert season ramps up in the southwest. I wonder what the atmosphere is going to be like at the Sand Sports Super Show happening this weekend in Costa Mesa, CA. just a week ahead of the ban.
In my opinion, if there is one less thing the powersports industry needs right now, it is a major player and ally in both the on-road motorsports representation and the fight to continue the legacy of public lands use and recreation for off-road vehicles.
-Junky