U.S. Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney proposed legislature Monday which she says would “hold Canada accountable” for “unfair” provincial limits on importing American alcohol — which were made in response to the trade war and tariffs launched against Canada last year.
The Combating Attacks on our National Alcoholic Drinks by Allies (CANADA) Act states that under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act, the legislation would direct U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and his office to investigate Canadian provincial liquor board restrictions on the import and distribution of U.S. products within 30 days, if made law.
“Nearly all of Canada’s provincial liquor boards have prohibited or restricted the importation and distribution of American alcoholic beverages, harming U.S. producers and limiting their access to an important export market,” a press release reads.
“The CANADA Act builds on comments from U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, who stated that resolving the Canadian provinces’ discriminatory treatment of American alcohol producers would likely require an enforcement action.”
The legislature comes as eight Canadian provincial governments levied restrictions on U.S. alcohol imports following U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs last year.
“Canadian provinces cannot be allowed to hold American wineries, breweries, and distilleries hostage and attempt to ransom them,” Tenney, a Republican member of the House of Representatives whose district includes parts of northern New York, said Monday in a statement on her website.
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“American wineries, breweries, distilleries, and other beverage producers deserve fair access to Canadian markets, not discriminatory treatment from one of our closest trading partners.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on April 23 that provincial bans on American alcohol are a “trade irritant.”
“These are provincial actions, with respect to alcohol on the shelves,” he said.
On March 4, 2025, in response to the first round of tariffs levied by U.S. President Donald Trump, American alcohol was officially removed from the shelves of Ontario liquor stores.
Ontario imported roughly $965 million worth of booze from America before the ban. That meant that roughly $2 million worth of U.S. products have either expired or would expire in the next few months.
Most of those products, according to the government, were beer, ready-to-drink beverages and wine.
New Brunswick’s premier Susan Holt said April 28 that she’s willing to put American alcohol back in stores if the United States reverses course on significant tariffs and duties.
“We want a free and open trade relationship with the U.S. Steel tariffs, the softwood lumber tariffs, those are hurting our economy and our businesses in New Brunswick, so we’re using the leverage that we have as Canadian consumers.”
In addition, an October 2025 report from the Distilled Spirits Council, a U.S. distillers trade group, states that American booze exports to Canada are down a staggering 85 per cent in the second quarter compared to the year before, falling below US$10 million.
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