BUFFALO, N.Y. — Officials in Ontario, Canada, are floating the idea of imposing their own restrictions on exports to the United States if President-elect Trump follows through with the tariffs he promised during, and after, the campaign.
According to the Associated Press, officials in Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government say its considering restrictions on U.S.-made alcohol being sold to the Ontario Liquor Control Board (OLCB).
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The OLCB oversees the importing and distribution of alcohol into the province, and is essentially the primary way restaurants, grocery stores, and other outlets can receive supplies of alcohol.
Officials told the AP that Premiere Ford is considering restricting alcohol says, but also other exports to the United States like energy, all because of the threats of tariffs by President-elect Trump.
"You come and attack Ontario, you attack livelihoods of people in Ontario, we're going to use every tool in our toolbox to defend Ontarians and Canadians across the border," Premiere Ford said.
President-elect Trump clapped back, to use the parlance of our times, from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday morning.
"That's OK if he doesn't like that, that's fine," President-elect Trump said. "The United States is subsidizing Canada, and we shouldn't have to do that."
What kind of impact would restrictions on alcohol shipments to Canada have on producers, particularly in Western New York?
"It's going to probably hurt big beer more than craft beer at this point," said Paul Leone, executive director of the NYS Brewers Association. "[Mainly] because big beer does bigger business
According to the Ontario Liquor Control Board website, there are 1,376 different alcohol brands imported into the province — that includes beer, distilled alcohol, wine and other products.
Only 16 different products are exported from New York to Ontario through the OLCB.
"The laws in Canada are a lot tighter when it comes to importing alcohol than it is in the United States bringing alcohol in," Leone said.
Leone said it would be more impactful if Ontario began limiting the amount of raw material it exports to alcohol producers, or impose their own tariffs on those materials.
"I think any sort of tariff at all is going to have an effect on breweries in New York State," Leone said. "The tariffs on beer in general is going to probably hurt big beer more than craft beer at this point, because big beer does bigger business."
Since there is difficult getting their product into Canada before all of this political blustering, Leone says he tells his members to focus on their regional customers.
"Focus on local, it's always been about local anyway," Leone said. "Buffalo breweries are in business because of of local business, not because of exporting or importing or or any of that sort of thing."