As U.S. President Donald Trump ratchets up his ongoing trade war with a proposed 50 per cent tariff on Canadian wine, some vintners in Ontario appear to be brushing off the threat.
“For Ontario’s craft wine producers, the impact of announced tariffs on Canadian import wines would be small if implemented,” Kris Barnier, president and CEO of Ontario Craft Wineries (OCW), told CTV News Toronto in a statement.
On Monday, Trump announced the U.S. would impose tariffs on dozens of Canadian goods, including wine and spirits, regardless of whether they are protected under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
The latest round of tariffs was levelled against Canada in response to what the White House described as discriminatory trade practices against the U.S., including the decision by some provinces to remove American-made alcohol from their shelves.
Ontario has taken part in the boycott since early last year, and Premier Doug Ford has remained adamant that U.S. liquor will not be returned to LCBO shelves before the trade war is finished.
U.S. exports a small part of Ontario craft winemakers’ business: OCW
The OCW said that while some of the 115 VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) wineries it represents do export products south of the border, it’s a small part of their business.
Bill Redelmeier is the owner of Southbrook Organic Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. and said “very little” wine is sent from Canada to the U.S., describing the trade relationship, as it pertains to wine, as asymmetrical in the U.S.’ favour.
“No one is complaining that this is a trade issue,” he said, pointing to the fact that before the ban, the LCBO sold $965 million worth of U.S. alcohol annually.
In fact, earlier this month California Senator Adam Schiff said that the boycott of American wine was “causing devastating harm to winegrowers” in his state, as he pleaded for a reversal of the policy.
Since U.S. liquor was pulled from the LCBO’s shelves, Ontario VQA wine sales across the board have spiked by 44 per cent in the last year. Ontario-made spirits, which would also be subject to Trump’s latest tariffs, saw a nine per cent increase in sales.
Redelmeier said he expects that the American wines and other alcoholic products will be sold again in Ontario “fairly soon.” But when that time comes, he said it shouldn’t be done carte blanche.
“What I hope to see when American wines return, that there would be a tariff applied to them that is the equivalent to what is applied on Canadian wine, and that that tariff be donated to charities that work on food insecurity in Ontario,” he said.
