WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – More than a year after a number of Canadian provinces pulled American alcohol from store shelves, North Country Rep. Claudia Tenney is calling for an investigation into what she calls unfair trade practices.<\/p>\n
Tenney, a Republican who represents the 24th Congressional District \u2014 which includes Watertown and part of Jefferson County \u2014 introduced the Combating Attacks on our National Alcoholic Drinks by Allies (CANADA) Act<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n What the legislation would do<\/p>\n The bill would direct the U.S. Trade Representative to launch a Section 301<\/a> investigation \u201cinto the Canadian provinces\u2019 discriminatory restrictions on the importation and distribution of American alcoholic beverages through provincial liquor boards.\u201d<\/p>\n If the USTR finds that a foreign government\u2019s actions are unfair, it can take action such as imposing new tariffs or trade restrictions.<\/p>\n Tenney\u2019s news release said the CANADA Act builds on comments from U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, \u201cwho stated that resolving the Canadian provinces\u2019 discriminatory treatment of American alcohol producers would likely require an enforcement action.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCanadian provinces cannot be allowed to hold American wineries, breweries, and distilleries hostage and attempt to ransom them,\u201d Tenney said in the release. \u201cAmerican wineries, breweries, distilleries, and other beverage producers deserve fair access to Canadian markets, not discriminatory treatment from one of our closest trading partners.\u201d<\/p>\n Background on the provincial bans<\/p>\n Beginning in February 2025, many Canadian provinces banned the sale of American alcohol in response to President Trump\u2019s 25% tariff on Canadian goods. A lot of Canadians were already boycotting American products after Trump repeatedly called for Canada to become the 51st state.<\/p>\n 7 News visited Kingston, Ontario, in March 2025<\/a> after Ontario Premier Doug Ford ordered American alcohol off store shelves.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery year, LCBO sells nearly $1 billion worth of American wine, beer, spirits and seltzers,\u201d Ford posted on X<\/a> at the time. \u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Industry impact<\/p>\n Since the provincial bans began, the American alcohol industry has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in export revenue.<\/p>\n