effect

Advice has also been given on other changes

Brits are being urged to check their passports before travelling, with a new rule now in effect.

Experts said the changes highlighted the risk of simple travel document mistakes. They have explained the rule change and given advice on wider passport checks to make before travelling.

From September 28, passengers travelling on Irish Ferries’ Dublin-Holyhead and Rosslare-Pembroke routes, in both directions, are required to present a valid passport or Irish passport card before boarding. But new research from Saga Travel Insurance suggests many Brits could still be caught out by basic passport and travel document rules.

It said 16% admitted they didn’t know when their passport expires, with a 8% currently holding an expired passport. Further, 10% had less than a year remaining on their passport and one in 14 (7%) had previously been denied entry to a country because they didn’t have enough time left on their passport.

Saga said there was also widespread confusion around post-Brexit travel rules, with half (50%) of holidaymakers saying they were not confident they understood the visa and travel requirements for visiting Europe.

Michelle Cooper, director of Travel Insurance at Saga, said: “Nobody should have their holidays ruined because of a simple passport error. A few quick checks can help people avoid unnecessary stress, unexpected costs and disruption at the airport.”

The travel insurance provider surveyed 500 people in the UK and found that Brits could be at risk of avoidable disruption when travelling overseas due to simple oversights.

The passport rules catching Brits out after Brexit

Half (50%) of holidaymakers are still not confident they understand the visa and travel requirements for visiting Europe after Brexit, the survey found.

Michelle said: “If you’re travelling to Europe for an extended period, you may now be required to apply for a new visa type. Travellers can spend up to 90 days in the Schengen area within any rolling 180‐day period, but it’s not as simple as it sounds.

“The 180 days are counted backwards from each day you’re in the EU or a Schengen country, so every trip adds up. That means even frequent short breaks can push you over the limit without realising.

“If you go beyond 90 days, you could face fines or even a ban from re-entering. Anyone planning to stay longer will need to apply for the new Schengen Visa.”

What is the Schengen area?

The Schengen area is a group of 29 European countries where travellers can move between countries without routine passport checks. It includes popular holiday destinations such as France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal.

Confusion around the ‘10-year passport rule’ is the most widely discussed passport concern online, according to the analysis from Saga Travel Insurance, with Reddit discussions on the issue amassing 35,417 upvotes.

Michelle explained: “EU and Schengen countries require passports to be less than 10 years old on the day of entry. While all new passports last exactly ten years, passports issued before 2018 remain valid for 10 years and nine months. If you have an older passport, make sure you check both the issue date and expiry date before travelling to avoid problems at the border.”

Brits warned over new ETIAS travel checks for Europe

From late 2026, British travellers visiting most European countries will need to apply for a new European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) before travelling. The new system is similar to the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme and will apply to visa-exempt travellers visiting 30 European countries for short stays of up to 90 days within a 180-day period.

Michelle said: “Travellers may not realise that visiting Europe will soon involve an additional pre-travel authorisation step. From late 2026, British holidaymakers will need to apply for ETIAS approval before travelling to many popular European destinations.

“The authorisation will be linked directly to your passport, meaning travellers could be denied boarding if their ETIAS details don’t match their travel document or if the authorisation has expired. Most ETIAS applications are expected to be processed within minutes, but it could take longer if additional checks are required. Holidaymakers should apply well in advance of departure to avoid last-minute disruptions.

“Similar systems already exist elsewhere. For example, UK travellers visiting the United States must apply for an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) before departure. These systems are becoming more common globally, so it’s important to check requirements for each destination well ahead of travel.

“As with passport validity rules, people are responsible for making sure they have the correct travel authorisation before they leave the country. If someone is unable to travel because they failed to obtain valid ETIAS or ESTA approval, travel insurance is unlikely to cover costs associated with denied boarding or cancelled trips.”

Trump retaliated against Canada’s counter-tariffs on $20bn worth of US imports by banning $1bn of Canadian goods.

The United States is implementing a ban on nearly $1bn in imports from Canada, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles.

The ban took effect early Tuesday and is likely to further strain already-tense relations between the two neighbours.

Ottawa and Washington DC have long been allies and trade partners, with approximately $880bn worth of annual two-way trade. That relationship has been upended during US President Donald Trump’s second term as he unleashed tariffs on most trading partners, including Canada, and referred to the northern neighbour as the 51st state of the US.

Most recently, the US slapped 50 percent levies on Canadian goods worth $20bn, including dairy and motorcycles, on August 22 after trade negotiations failed. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney retaliated, saying Ottawa will match US tariffs “dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses”. Canada levied tariffs of 15 percent, 25 percent and 50 percent on US exports of a similar value.

Tuesday’s ban was Trump’s punishment for Canada’s retaliatory tariffs.

“The impact of such a ban will be minor, it is only $1bn while we trade hundreds of billions with Canada,” Professor Gary Shields at Wayne State University’s School of Business told Al Jazeera. “It is, however, rather astonishing how President Trump treats our allies in Canada and Europe, while rolling out the red carpet for China’s dictator when he visited the US last week”.

“It is a tit-for-tat. It will not reduce people’s taxes and won’t put money in their pockets. It is kind of personal and a way of showing off toughness,” Shields added.

Canada’s economy grew by an estimated 0.2 percent in August after remaining unchanged in July, according to Statistics Canada. But the new US-Canada tariffs, tighter financial conditions and a shrinking population should further weaken growth in late 2026 and early 2027, Michael Davenport, senior Canada economist at Oxford Economics, said in a note provided to Al Jazeera.

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s trade war with Canada could intensify the headwinds Republicans are navigating ahead of the November midterms, with its effects poised to reverberate in northern battleground states with crucial Senate races.

With the election less than six weeks away, Republicans are facing an increasingly bleak outlook, as new polls this week showed voters favoring Democrats by as much as 12 points amid widespread cost-of-living anxiety and low approval for Trump.

The escalating beef with Canada — Trump attacked the country anew on social media Wednesday — stands to heighten voters’ economic worries and add to the GOP’s political challenge in dead-heat races, analysts said.

“It doesn’t make things easier. It’s not helping,” said Rusty Hills, a University of Michigan public policy professor and onetime chair of the Michigan Republican Party.

The president’s unpopular policies on the war in Iran, the economy and data centers have already handed Republican candidates the tough task of appearing responsive to Americans’ frustration with cost-of-living issues without alienating Trump and his voter base.

The trade war, said Lance Dutson, a Maine Republican media strategist, puts “another log on the fire” of the affordability issue.

The tariffs have appeared unpopular in recent polling, including among a majority of independent voters. Though they are not expected to dramatically increase consumer prices, they could affect voters’ perception of the economy — and even small economic impacts on certain industries, such as auto manufacturing in Michigan, could have an effect in very close midterm races, experts said.

Trump’s new import bans on some Canadian goods are set to begin next week, a response to retaliatory tariffs Canada levied earlier this month. Trump argues that Canada has “been ripping off” the United States and that tariffs will help domestic manufacturers.

On Wednesday, the president inaccurately claimed on Truth Social that Canada is allowing “millions and millions” of immigrants into its country.

“It is a Liberal takeover that will end very badly. Already showing up in their numbers. Big unemployment. ‘Oh Canada!” the president wrote on social media Wednesday morning.

Five of the nine states most likely to decide Senate control border Canada — Alaska, Ohio, Michigan, New Hampshire and Maine. Two more, Texas and Iowa, also do substantial trade with Canada.

Democrats must retain their Senate seats including New Hampshire and Michigan and flip four of the other states to win a majority, a tall task. As the landscape worsens for Republicans, however, some are testing how much they can distance themselves from Trump.

“It’s a tightrope, there’s no question,” Hills said. “[Candidates] are looking for some wiggle room on some of these issues like the war and prices and Canada tariffs, because they need every independent and swing voter they can get.”

A majority of Americans oppose raising tariffs on Canadian goods, including 64% of independents, an Economist/YouGov poll found. Only 14% of independents said they supported additional U.S. tariffs on Canada in a late August Ipsos poll.

And in Michigan, 68% of independent voters disapprove of the tariffs, a poll this month from the Washington Post and Schar School found.

“The more we put tariffs on stuff, the more they put tariffs on stuff … prices are just ultimately going to go up for all of us,” said one Michigan swing voter in a Sept. 9 focus group conducted by the firm Engagious, in which 11 of 13 participants said the trade war was bad for the state.

The highest costs of the tariffs will be concentrated within a few industries, including auto and other manufacturing, dairy, and alcohol and spirits, said Alex Durante, a senior economist at the Tax Foundation. The tariffs likely won’t create a major change for consumers, but the general impression that tariffs can contribute to higher prices might turn off voters who are already worried about inflation, he said.

Counter-tariffs imposed by Canada in response to U.S tariffs last year resulted in a 6% increase in the prices of affected goods, researchers found in paper published by the Journal of Monetary Economics.

Canadian lumber products at Gutherie Lumber in Livonia, Mich., in August.

(Paul Sancya / Associated Press)

“This trade war is certainly not helping the president and his party in the midterms,” Durante said. “What’s weighing on the top of people’s minds is this general affordability crisis … and they realize that tariffs are another factor that is impacting affordability.”

The latest escalation of the trade dispute began in July, when Trump threatened new 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods, reinvigorating a conflict that began with tariffs the president imposed in 2025.

The two countries began trade talks, but the negotiations fell apart in late August, and Trump imposed tariffs on about $20-billion worth of Canadian goods. Canada retaliated with tariffs on about $20-billion worth of American goods that took effect Sept. 8. Trump then announced import bans on some Canadian goods, including certain alcohol and dairy products, which go into effect next week.

Construction and farm equipment in Illinois, aluminum and pipe products in New York, and iron and steel products in Ohio are among the goods targeted by Canada’s counter-tariffs, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. In California, about 10.5% of the state’s Canadian imports are exposed to the counter-tariffs imposed by Canada.

Democrats have seized on the issue as another way to tie Republican candidates to Trump’s policies, something that analysts said may have varying degrees of success in different swing states.

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins campaigns in August in Kittery, Maine.

(CJ Gunther / Getty Images)

In Maine and New Hampshire, where the Republican Senate nominees have criticized Trump’s move, the tariff issue may be less likely to stick. Efforts to tie Republicans to Trump have historically been less successful in the region because of its independent streak, said Jim Merrill, a veteran Republican strategist in New Hampshire.

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins warned the White House against imposing tariffs and successfully pushed for the administration to exempt road salt and cement this month. She told Politico that the Trump administration had “very much underestimated” the effect of the tariffs on Maine residents.

Republican John Sununu, a former senator who is running to retake the seat in New Hampshire, has also criticized the tariffs, saying a trade war with Canada “doesn’t make any sense.” He indicated he would support legislation in Congress to restrain the president’s tariff powers.

Elsewhere, Senate nominees have walked a careful line on tariffs. In Alaska, Sen. Dan Sullivan has largely avoided the issue, even as Democrats there have used it to ramp up attacks on his record in recent days. In Ohio, former Sen. Jon Husted told the National Review in August that the public “would like to understand the strategy behind what the president’s trying to do.”

Former Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, the Republican Senate nominee, told reporters over the weekend that he was in favor of “good” tariffs that would help Michigan and opposed to “bad” tariffs that would hurt the state.

Focusing on issues other than tariffs may be the right strategy on the campaign trail, Hills said.

“He’d much rather be talking about the Republican plan for affordability,” Hills suggested. “There’s interesting things we need to be talking about in order to win this election, and this isn’t one of them.”