New York Lawmaker Calls for Tariffs Over Canada’s U.S. Booze Bans

Canada may be the White House’s next target for additional tariffs to combat unfair trade, with a bill introduced this week calling for an investigation into Canadian provinces’ bans on U.S. alcohol imports.Congresswoman Claudia Tenney of New York, a Republican who calls herself a “staunch” ally of President Trump, introduced the Combating Attacks on our National Alcoholic Drinks by Allies Act on Monday. If enacted, the bill would compel the Office of the U.S. trade representative to investigate Ottawa for discriminatory trade practices against the United States.“American wineries, breweries, distilleries, and other beverage producers deserve fair access to Canadian markets, not discriminatory treatment from one of our closest trading partners,” Ms. Tenney said in a statement Monday. “Nearly all of Canada’s provincial liquor boards have unfairly targeted U.S. producers and harmed hardworking American businesses due to unrelated policy issues.”U.S. spirits exports to Canada fell by almost 50 percent between 2024 and 2025, dropping to $177.3 million from $324.8 million last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The crash followed bans imposed by authorities in every province except Alberta and Saskatchewan in response to 25 percent “fentanyl” tariffs the Trump administration levied on Canadian goods starting in March 2025. The U.S. Supreme Court vacated those tariffs in February, but provincial bans on U.S. booze are still in place.U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer expressed frustration over Canada’s intransigence in testimony to the House Ways & Means Committee in April, saying, “We are kind of at the end of our rope,” and “there may have to be an enforcement action to deal with this issue on wine and spirits in Canada.”Ms. Tenney’s “CANADA” Act, if enacted, would kick off an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which authorizes the White House to retaliate against actions that restrict U.S. commerce. New tariffs announced last month covering imports from 60 countries resulted from Section 301 investigations that found dozens of U.S. trade partners liable for failing to eliminate goods produced by forced labor from their supply chains. Sweeping tariffs the first Trump administration imposed on more than $300 billion worth of goods imported from China were also imposed under Section 301, a huge expansion from the small, product-specific tariff programs it was previously used to create. Unlike the fentanyl tariffs, the China Section 301 tariffs survived a legal challenge backed by thousands of importers, with a federal appeals court affirming the government’s interpretation of the statute. Last month the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition from importers challenging the government’s expanded application Section 301, effectively greenlighting the Trump administration’s read of the law. If Tenney’s bill fails in either chamber, Mr. Greer can also initiate a Section 301 investigation on its own. The trade representative’s office did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The New York Sun as to whether it would do so.

New York Lawmaker Calls for Tariffs Over Canada’s U.S. Booze Bans

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