The American Alcohol Industry is Suffering From Canada’s ‘Mean And Nasty’ Boycotts

American alcohol exports to Canada have decreased by more than 60% due to the country’s boycott of American booze, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Several Canadian provinces, which regulate the sale of liquor in Canada, initiated boycotts in response to President Donald Trump imposing a 25% tariff on Canadian goods in February. Liqueur stores stopped ordering new shipments and replaced American products on their shelves with Canadian ones.

The Distilled Spirits Council, an alcohol industry group, estimated exports of American distilled spirits to Canada in the first six months of 2025 were down about 62% from the same period the year before, while exports of American wine were down 67%.

The Wine Institute, a trade group representing California-based wineries, estimated that in six months this year, American wineries lost more than $173 million in export value. In 2024, Canada bought up 35% of American wine exports, making it the industry’s largest export destination.

Robert Cullins, CEO of Baltimore-based Sagamore Spirit, estimates that the company will lose out on $2 million of revenue this year. “We’re a small craft distillery, so a couple of million dollars is pretty significant.”

One California vineyard, Hope Family Wines, says their sales have fallen by 10% so far. “It’s definitely going to hurt us personally,” Gretchen Roddick, the executive vice president, stated.

Meanwhile, Ontario announced that sales of Canadian brands have jumped by 14%.

Alberta participated in the boycott for three months before replacing it with a 25% tariff, claiming they wanted to improve the tone of trade talks between the two countries, according to Dale Nally, the province’s minister of red tape reduction.

The booze boycott is one of the reasons Trump has called Canada “mean and nasty to deal with.”

Canada failed to reach a trade agreement with the US before Trump’s August 1st deadline, meaning that any products not covered under the United States -Mexico-Canada Agreement — about 60% of products — will be subject to 35% tariffs. This puts Canada on the higher end of the tariff scale.

There is currently no sign of ongoing negotiations between the two countries.

“We’ll speak when it makes sense,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters last week.

He warned the United States that Canadian investment in the country could decline without a deal: “Canada is the second-largest investor in the United States today in the world. We have 40 million people.”

“That puts in context the state of the relationship,” he said. “Without an agreement, there will be less by definition.”

Trump has not commented on the situation or hinted at future trade talks. Shortly before the August 1st deadline, he stated that “We haven’t really had a lot of luck with Canada. I think Canada could be one where they’ll just pay tariffs. It’s not really a negotiation.”