ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Georgia leaders warned this week that the state faces significant exposure as trade tensions between the United States and Canada escalate.

Canada’s retaliatory tariffs took effect shortly after midnight Tuesday, affecting nearly 700 U.S. products worth about $20 billion, according to Canada’s Department of Finance. Hours later, the White House responded with new bans on Canadian alcohol, dairy products and motorcycles, along with additional tariffs on goods including mattresses and boats.

Canada is Georgia’s largest export market, according to the Georgia Chamber Foundation, and some Georgians said they are already feeling the effects.

“I don’t like the tariffs at all. I think it’s a terrible mistake,” said Tommy Morgan, a Georgia resident.

Morgan said the dispute represents a sharp change in a relationship he has valued throughout his life.

“Canada’s, all my life, Canada’s been a buddy,” Morgan said. “I feel like this administration, they don’t want to be friends with anyone.”

Another Georgia resident, Demarcus McCarthy, said rising prices have changed the way he shops.

“You either pay more for it or you have to make the decision to not eat it anymore ... it’s hurting everybody,” McCarthy said.

Economists warned the dispute could deepen and put pressure on Georgia businesses and farmers.

“It’s potentially catastrophic ... with businesses going out of business because nobody up north is actually buying their product anymore,” said Tom Smith, an economist at Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business.

Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said Georgia farmers are especially vulnerable.

“They’re getting squeezed on both sides,” Ajilore said.

Canada received $6.8 billion in Georgia goods exports in 2025 — about 11% of the state’s total goods exports — according to the Georgia Chamber Foundation.

McCarthy said the broader economic consequences are often overlooked.

“People don’t even think about all of those parts like the farmers or the workers who have been affected,” he said.

The U.S. is set to expand its 50% tariff list Sept. 15 to include additional Canadian products, including mattresses, boats and other goods.

A U.S. import ban on Canadian alcohol, motorcycles and select dairy products is scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 29, according to the White House.

The White House has published a full list of Canadian products subject to U.S. tariffs and bans. Canada’s Department of Finance has published a list of U.S. products subject to its counter-tariffs.

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