By Hamish Graham
Published: 19 August, 2026
US President Trump has paused the implementation of a 50% tariff on a range of Canadian goods for three days (which were set to be implemented today – 19 August), with the two governments nearing a deal that seeks to avert the heightened export duty.
Yesterday (18 August) Trump said the US and Canada had a deal “subject to finalisation of documents”. Canadian PM Mark Carney was pleased with progress but added that “there is important work still to be done”.
In retaliation to the US government’s existing tariffs on Canadian goods – which include a 15% and 25% levy on Canadian cars and steel/aluminium, respectively – many of the nation’s provinces introduced a total ban of US alcohol sales.
As part of the present negotiations the US is requesting that the alcohol ban be lifted, which the BBC detailed in a recent report. All sales of alcohol are controlled by the Canadian provinces, so Mark Carney will require cooperation from regional premiers to implement such a change.
In July of this year 14 California lawmakers pleaded with the Quebec government to lift its ban on US alcohol sales.
In response to this intervention Quebec premier Christine Frechette said: “This measure will remain in place as long as the United States maintains these unjustified tariffs. Our government will re-evaluate its position when the American administration reverses these measures.”
If current negotiations succeed and a subsequent re-evaluation does indeed take place, US winemakers and distillers could see their products return to Canadian shelves.
The next step would be encouraging consumers to buy US alcohol products again. A Nanos Research poll last month revealed that 69% of Canadians would not buy such products if they returned to shelves. This figure rises to around 74%, 75% and 81% for consumers in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, respectively.
Chris Swonger, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) president and CEO said that the current sales ban is “discriminatory” and has “unfairly targeted US distillers for more than a year and a half”.
In a statement released yesterday he continued: “These provincial bans have caused exports of American spirits to drop by more than 70%, leaving American distillers caught in the middle of a broader trade dispute.
“As discussions continue over the next few days, we encourage leaders on both sides of the border to reach a negotiated solution that gets American spirits back on retail shelves in all Canadian provinces and returns the spirits sector to a zero-for-zero tariff framework.”
Harpers spoke to Oregon Wine earlier this year about the effects of the US-Canadian trade war for the state’s wine industry. Margaret Bray explained at the time that Canada was producers’ top export market with some taking a 15% hit to overall sales due to the alcohol ban.
Image credit – Kosta from Pixabay
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