US President Donald Trump’s administration is using another tariff threat to put new pressure on Canadian provinces to end their boycott of US alcohol. But regional leaders do not support it.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he will not lift his province’s ban on the sale of American wine and spirits in state-run stores unless the U.S. removes tariffs on autos and steel.
“We have to negotiate with strengths, not weaknesses. And we need to put everything on the table,” he told reporters in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, on Tuesday. Trump “is nothing but a bully”, he added.
Canada is still aiming for a comprehensive trade agreement with the United States, and seems willing to use alcohol as a solution.
Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters that any decision to lift the ban “will be taken by the states themselves individually, and should only be taken – in my judgment – as part of a general agreement.”
Several Canadian provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, pulled US wines and spirits from state-run stores after Trump launched a trade war last year, costing US brewers millions of dollars in sales.
