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A US import ban on certain Canadian products, including whiskey, beer and motorcycles, takes effect Tuesday, prompting an Ottawa distillery to pivot to European markets and raising concerns among brewers.
A US import ban on certain Canadian products is set to take effect Tuesday, prompting at least one small Ontario business to look overseas for new markets.
Canadian products face US import ban
SFR Distillery in Ottawa had planned to expand into the United States. That strategy has been upended by the new measures from Washington. The ban covers a list of Canadian products, including beer and other alcohol, whey protein, molasses and motorcycles. For SFR Distillery, the change means its whiskey can no longer legally cross the border.
Adam Brierley, the distillery's general manager and master distiller, said the shift was sudden and complete. As of Tuesday, it will actually be illegal for us to export our goods to the United States because of the decisions they've made down there, Brierley said. Until recently, expanding south of the border was part of the distillery's growth strategy. Its flagship whiskey was developed as a bourbon alternative and was put on LCBO shelves as bourbon was removed from Ontario stores.
Our flagship whiskey was intended as a bourbon replacement, Brierley said. After recent domestic growth, the company had planned to make a major push into the US market. Now, Brierley is looking to Europe instead. The distillery plans to attend several large European trade shows throughout the year, where Brierley hopes to meet with distributors and importers.
Businesses seek new markets amid barriers
Hopefully we can send out whole sea containers of whiskey over to Europe all at once, he said. For Brierley, the shift offers another potential path for growth. It's nice to know there's another larger customer, as big as the United States, that would be very happy to take our goods, he said. The pivot comes as Canada looks to strengthen trade ties with the European Union amid its ongoing trade dispute with the United States.
Some small businesses are also looking overseas for new markets. International trade lawyer Barry Appleton said the import ban represents a major escalation, particularly for businesses operating in the affected sectors. This is a major escalation to a small percentage of our economy, but a big impact if you're in one of those sectors, Appleton said. Appleton said an import ban presents a particularly difficult barrier for Canadian companies.
With an import ban you're talking about a wall, and a wall is a lot more difficult to be able to circumvent, he said. Canadian brewers are among those facing yet another challenge as they too prepare to be shut out of the US market. The industry has already been dealing with higher costs for aluminum cans, adding further pressure to producers.
Brewers face rising costs and uncertainty
That has been a huge, huge increase in cost and brewers have been working very, very hard to try to absorb those costs, but there's no end in sight, said Richard Alexander, president of Beer Canada. While some businesses may be able to diversify their markets, others could face significant challenges from Washington's latest measures. The ban takes effect Tuesday.
For SFR Distillery, the focus is now on Europe and the trade shows where Brierley hopes to build new distribution relationships.
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CP24:Ottawa distillery looks to Europe as U.S. import ban threatens Canadian exports 
CTVToronto:Ottawa distillery looks to Europe as U.S. import ban threatens Canadian exportsThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Canada-US Trade Relations SFR Distillery Export Market Diversification Import Ban European Trade Shows U.S. Import Ban Canadian Alcohol Exports European Trade Beer Canada US Import Ban Canadian Whiskey Exports
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