Is the U.S. booze ban working?

[00:00:00]There is not a chance in hell that US alcohol is going back on the shelf.

[00:00:04]>> If he continues to constantly bully us, we can't keep rolling over. [music] We can't keep backing down.

[00:00:10]>> New tariffs or not, provincial premiers are not backing down. But with the US booze ban cited as a major irritant in trade talks, [music] how much does it hurt US businesses? The ban started last February when eight provinces began clearing shelves and restricting the import of US alcohol.

[00:00:29]According to the US Census Bureau, between 2024 and 2025, wine exports from the US to Canada fell by 343 million dollars. That's a 77% drop. And a recent study found US exports for wine, distilled spirits, and beer plummeted from 744 million to 208 million, a 72% decrease or a 536 million-dollar loss.

[00:00:58]A big hit for states depending on Canadian customers.

[00:01:01]>> It's hurting us and it's hurting our industry, and I have the Finger Lakes wineries in my region. I have a lot of great spirits manufacturers.

[00:01:08]>> So, was it worth it?

[00:01:10]>> I'm not sure the ban was that effective.

[00:01:12]>> David Sobelman is a marketing professor.

[00:01:14]>> I don't think it really convinced the Americans or the current American administration to change anything.

[00:01:20]>> He's skeptical about the effectiveness of the ban and says some Canadians are still getting around it.

[00:01:26]>> I think that um for the most part uh people have continued to buy the products that they want and many of us, uh certainly people who are very committed to, for example, drinking bourbon might have actually just driven across the border and purchased it and then come back.

[00:01:44]>> Sobelman thinks if the ban was dropped, Canadians would go from elbows to bottoms up.

[00:01:50]>> The thing that makes the liquor market so interesting is there's so many different kinds. I think you will see the American products will pick up their sales to where they were before.

[00:02:02]>> On the streets of Toronto, summer is certainly ready for the ban to be over.

[00:02:07]>> Because I like bourbon.

[00:02:08]>> And you miss it?

[00:02:09]>> Well, actually I travel to states a lot, so I bring it back. So I have been hoarding my own stash.

[00:02:14]>> There are certain brands that I like.

[00:02:16]The taste are very The taste is very particular.

[00:02:18]>> While others are holding firm.

[00:02:20]>> I think we have a lot of good Canadian options.

[00:02:22]>> Well, I would stick up for Canada and not buy it.

[00:02:27]>> I've boycotted kind of like the Trump administration.

[00:02:30]>> But public policy professor Drew Fagan says President Trump didn't give Canada much of a choice.

[00:02:35]>> I mean, the question is, has it done more harm than good?

[00:02:40]>> Donald Trump is at this stage going to take offense at anything.

[00:02:45]>> So you're you're saying if it wasn't a ban on booze, it would be some other way of pushing back that would just upset Washington.

[00:02:53]>> Look, I don't think governments in Canada, um, could withstand political pressure to not do anything. On the one hand, you don't want to bait the bear.

[00:03:05]On the other hand, sometimes a bully needs to be, you know, sort of hit in the nose a little bit.

[00:03:11]>> He says, "While the new tariffs haven't [music] come into effect, pay attention to what Trump is targeting."

[00:03:16]>> He imposed tariffs on hockey sticks.

[00:03:19]Not because the market for hockey sticks in the United States. It's symbolic.

[00:03:24]>> While leaving alone critical minerals and energy, where he still needs Canadian cooperation.