USA

Based on what we know, most counter-tariffs affecting food, food manufacturing, and retail will be rolled back Sept. 1. This is welcome news.

It will provide relief for Canadian consumers, greater choice for grocers, and — most importantly — help keep food inflation in check. Even if counter-tariffs did not directly apply to a wide range of products, they acted like the tide with boats: price increases in certain aisles created pressure across the grocery store. In food retail, all categories compete with one another for share of wallet. When orange juice, peanut butter, or coffee prices rise due to tariffs, it indirectly pushes prices elsewhere upward as grocers rebalance their pricing strategies.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent decision to lift countertariffs on U.S. goods has renewed questions about whether more Canadian provinces will allow liquor retailers to put U.S. alcohol back on their shelves.

U.S. industry associations have been calling for an end to U.S. booze bans, arguing that they harm Canadian consumers and businesses.

But outside of Alberta and Saskatchewan, which lifted moratoriums on buying and selling U.S. liquor in June, governments across Canada are showing no sign of budging.

No Bending of the Elbows Up?

Joe Koenen has not seen a single Toronto Blue Jays baseball hat all summer.

Typically, Canadians will flood the streets of Seattle during the summer, but Koenen, who runs Seattle Free Walking Tours (where people pay what they can), said Canadian tourists are almost gone. Streets look emptier to him.

Canadians calling to cancel their tours “explicitly told me that it was because of the policies and the behavior of our current president,” he said.

The parent company of American alcohol producers such as Jack Daniel’s whisky and Woodford Reserve bourbon says sales to Canada dropped 62 per cent during the latest fiscal quarter compared to a year ago, as American alcohol remains off the shelves in many provinces.

After U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods in early March, a number of provinces retaliated, pulling American alcohol from store shelves. Alberta and Saskatchewan have since lifted the ban.

During a conference call with investors Thursday, officials with Brown-Forman — the parent company of brands such as Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve — noted other pressures, but said the boycott is causing a “significant impact.”

It was reported recently that Quebec’s liquor board, the SAQ, will be giving away about $300,000 worth of American alcoholic beverages that are nearing expiry. The initial plan was to discard the stock, but public pressure forced a reversal.

In a province long associated with milk dumping due to supply management, rescuing American booze from the same fate is nothing short of ironic.

The de minimis exemption that allowed low-value packages to be shipped duty-free to the United States is now a thing of the past as an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump went into effect Friday.

Under an executive order signed by Trump in July, packages valued at or under US$800 sent to the U.S. from outside of its postal network will now face “all applicable duties” starting Aug. 29, the White House said.