--- title: "Trump's ban on Canadian alcohol starts Tuesday, but these well-known brands will avoid it" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/300160612.md" description: "Trump's ban on Canadian alcohol takes effect Tuesday, but major brands like Crown Royal, Fireball, Labatt, and Molson are largely unaffected due to exemptions for bulk shipments or U.S.-based production. TD Cowen analyst Seamus Cassidy notes limited manufacturing exposure for most covered companies, though Brown-Forman faces significant risk from Canadian retaliatory measures that have already slashed sales. The trade dispute continues to impact employment and hospitality sectors in both nations." datetime: "2026-09-25T19:45:27.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/300160612.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/300160612.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/300160612.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Trump's ban on Canadian alcohol starts Tuesday, but these well-known brands will avoid it By Victor Reklaitis Labatt and Molson beers and Fireball shots won't disappear in the U.S. - here's why A number of well-known Canadian beers and liquors won't be going away as a ban takes effect Tuesday. President Donald Trump's ban on Canadian alcoholic products, which is set to take effect Tuesday, targets some of our northern neighbor's most famous brands. But a number of well-known beers and liquors won't be going away, thanks to a workaround involving bulk shipments - or the fact that some Canadian alcoholic brands are now tied to U.S. companies and get produced here. Crown Royal, the top-selling Canadian whisky that's owned by Diageo (DEO) (UK:DGE), looks set to take advantage of an exemption for Canadian whisky that travels across the border in a container that's 4 liters or larger and then gets bottled in U.S. facilities. MarketWatch highlighted that situation earlier this month. Fans of Canadian Mist whisky and Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, a Canadian whisky-based liqueur that's often taken as a shot, also probably don't need to start searching for alternatives. Those spirits look poised to benefit from that same workaround tied to bulk shipments and U.S.-based bottling operations. The U.S. parent company for Fireball and Canadian Mist, privately held Sazerac, declined to comment. Drinkers who like Labatt Blue, Labatt Blue Light and Labatt Ice won't see those beers disappear from American bars and stores. That's because they have been getting brewed in the U.S. for the American market by FIFCO USA due to a spinoff about two decades ago triggered by a Justice Department antitrust review. Meanwhile, Labatt brewskis in Canada are produced by beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) (BE:ABI). North American Breweries, which is now FIFCO USA's name after it was acquired by a private-equity firm, told MarketWatch in a statement that U.S. fans of Labatt mostly won't be affected as Labatt USA products are brewed, canned and packaged in upstate New York. It's a similar situation for Americans who like Molson Golden and Molson Ice. Those beers are produced in the U.S. by Molson Coors (TAP) for the American market. The beer known as Molson Canadian, on the other hand, is produced in Canada, so it actually could disappear in the U.S. if stockpiles run out and there aren't workaround efforts. Molson Coors didn't respond to a request for comment. A TD Cowen analyst who covers publicly traded companies such as AB InBev, Brown-Forman (BF.B), Diageo and Molson Coors isn't sounding worried about the upcoming ban on Canadian alcoholic products. "The companies under our coverage have limited manufacturing exposure to Canada, with the exception of Diageo's Crown Royal brand. However, Crown Royal should remain largely unaffected, as the restrictions do not apply to bulk liquid imports and Diageo bottles the product domestically after importing bulk Canadian whisky into the U.S.," said the analyst, Seamus Cassidy, in an email to MarketWatch. The main damage to these types of companies is likely to come from continued Canadian retaliatory measures that already have hurt sales, according to Cassidy. "Brown-Forman remains the most exposed to potential retaliatory actions," the TD Cowen analyst said. He added that Canada historically has provided only about 1% of the company's revenue, but its Canadian sales fell about 60% in its fiscal year that ended April 30 after most provinces removed Brown-Forman brands like Jack Daniel's and Woodford Reserve from store shelves. During Brown-Forman's annual meeting of stockholders in July, CEO Lawson Whiting said: "Canada continues to be a problem, as we don't have our product on the shelves up there, at least none of our American-made products." Canadian provinces had looked poised to put American alcoholic products back on their store shelves last month as Trump and Canadian officials appeared close to achieving a new trade deal. Instead, negotiations broke down and new trade actions - like the ban on Canadian alcohol that starts Tuesday - have been rolled out by each side. U.S. spirits and wine exports to Canada crater American and Canadian producers of alcoholic drinks have "iconic brands" that are "an unfortunate victim" in the trade fight, said Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a lobbying group. The fight is weighing on employment and on the hospitality industries in each country, he said. "We just hope both governments can get together and get this resolved as soon as possible," Swonger told MarketWatch. Some Canadians have been saying that they're upset to have missed out on new releases from American whiskey brands over the past year, while others have sent emails saying, "I will never drink an American product ever again," said Michael Bilello, CEO of the American Whiskey Association. "There are some consumers who will come back immediately, there are some consumers who are going to take a lot of time to come back, and there are some consumers who may choose not to come back at all, but all we're asking for is to give the Canadians choice," Bilello said. The spirits council and whiskey association joined with more than 50 other groups to send a letter to Trump on Monday that indicated they want a trade deal that "restores U.S. spirits and wines to the Canadian market, prevents additional product bans, and delivers certainty for American producers, workers and hospitality businesses." The letter's signatories, calling themselves the "Toasts Not Tariffs Coalition," detailed the hit to U.S. companies from the Canadian boycotts that began in March 2025 in retaliation to new Trump tariffs on Canadian goods. U.S. spirits exports to Canada fell roughly 70% over a 12-month period, dropping from $232 million to $72 million, while U.S. wine exports to Canada plunged by 87%, from $456 million to $60 million. The coalition's letter also said product bans are "not in the best interest of consumers and risk lost sales for U.S. hospitality businesses at a time when many are already facing economic challenges." -Victor Reklaitis This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. 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