‘Put American spirits back’ on Canadian shelves, U.S. booze group urges – National

The Canadian government’s decision to remove retaliatory tariffs on goods covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) free trade deal was a “positive sign,” says a group representing the U.S. liquor industry.

But that group says they still want U.S. booze back on Canadian shelves.

“This is a very positive sign, but until all provinces put American spirits back on their shelves it won’t have much of an impact,” the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said in a statement after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Friday he will remove most counter-tariffs on U.S. goods.

Canadian provinces and territories decided to pull U.S. alcohol products off their shelves in March in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada.

Those products remain unavailable in government-run liquor stores in Ontario, B.C., Manitoba, Quebec, the Maritimes and the northern territories nearly six months later.

The move has harmed U.S. distillers, the industry body said in its statement on Monday.

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“The unfortunate decision to remove American spirits from Canadian retail shelves is not only harming U.S. distillers, but it’s also needlessly reducing revenues for the provinces, and placing unnecessary burdens on Canadian consumers and hospitality businesses,” the statement said.

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The industry group said the Canadian government’s decision to remove the tariffs on U.S. goods bodes well for the industry.

A joint press release by Spirits Canada and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States last month shows that from March 5 until April 30, sales of U.S. spirits in Canada fell by 66.3 per cent compared with the same period last year.

From March 5 until the end of April, Canadian spirits sales also declined, but at a lower rate of 6.3 per cent. Other imported spirits declined by 8.2 per cent.

According to Spirits Canada and the Distilled Spirits Council, total spirits fell sharply by 20 per cent year over year in March.

Canadian spirits sales increased 3.6 per cent in April, with other imported spirits up 3.7 per cent, but the gains didn’t compensate for the losses from U.S. removal.

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