US Lawmaker to Introduce Bill Targeting Canadian Provinces Over US Liquor Ban

A B.C. Liquor Store employee demonstrates removing bottles of American whiskey for media before a news conference in Vancouver, B.C., on Feb. 2, 2025. The Canadian Press/Ethan CairnsRepublican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney of New York is introducing legislation calling for a trade investigation into some Canadian provinces’ decisions to remove U.S. alcohol from store shelves in response to Washington’s tariffs.Tenney’s office announced her intention to introduce the Combating Attacks on our National Alcoholic Drinks by Allies Act, or CANADA Act, on July 6, noting that it asks for a prompt investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.Under Section 301, a finding of unfair trade practices that harm U.S. commerce can provide the legal basis for the U.S. Trade Representative to impose tariffs, import restrictions, or other retaliatory trade measures in response.“Canadian provinces cannot be allowed to hold American wineries, breweries, and distilleries hostage and attempt to ransom them,” Tenney said.“American wineries, breweries, distilleries, and other beverage producers deserve fair access to Canadian markets, not discriminatory treatment from one of our closest trading partners.”Alcohol BanSeveral provincial liquor boards removed or limited American alcohol products last year in response to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.These included liquor boards in Ontario, B.C., Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, while Yukon also stopped ordering new shipments of U.S. alcohol into stores.Saskatchewan and Alberta have since resumed selling American alcohol, but several of Canada’s biggest alcohol buying provinces including Quebec and Ontario have still not resumed buying U.S. alcohol products.Trade NegotiationsDuring a visit to Washington last month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that U.S. alcohol could come back on Ontario store shelves if and when the Canada–U.S.–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is renewed.“I just want to get this deal done,” Ford said. “I can assure you once that deal’s done, I’m going to be sitting down and bringing all the booze back on shelves in Ontario.”Last week, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced that Washington would not agree to renew CUSMA to a full 16-year term in its “current form.”The agreement remains in effect as talks continue but will keep being reviewed on an annual basis and expire in 2036 if no extension is agreed on by all three parties before that time.Trade IrritantsU.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and other Trump administration officials have criticized the removals of U.S. booze in Canadian provinces as unfair and an impediment to renewing CUSMA.American alcohol industry groups have consistently called on Canada to resume all normal access to its alcohol market. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States has said Canadian provinces’ bans on U.S. booze led to a 63 percent decline in U.S. spirits exports to Canada last year.Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that the provincial bans on U.S. alcohol could end “quickly” if Washington resolves the tariffs it has imposed on Canadian products.“You know what’s an irritant? 50 percent tariff on steel, 50 percent tariff on aluminum, 25 percent tariff on automobiles, all the tariffs on forest product. Those are more than irritants. Those are violations of our trade deal,” Carney said in April.The Canadian Press contributed to this report.