Tariff tensions between the United States and Canada are spilling into the alcohol aisle.
Massachusetts Treasurer Deb Goldberg said the uncertainty is already putting pressure on businesses and could affect jobs and consumer prices, The Berkshire Eagle reported.
Here's what to know
Goldberg said on a press call organized by For the Long Term that President Donald Trump's tariff policies are destabilizing the alcohol business in Massachusetts, The Berkshire Eagle stated. She said the disruption could cost workers their jobs and cut into state revenue.
Canada has become the main front in the latest trade dispute. In July, Trump said goods from Canada would face a 50% tariff, which the White House described as a response to "Canada's discriminatory treatment of American products."
Canada then hit back. Saskatchewan's premier put a matching tariff on American alcohol, and Trump later said some Canadian alcoholic drinks would be barred from entering the U.S. starting Sept. 29.
"I feel that this whole tariff thing is a game. And it's a game that is risking people's lives in the sense — it's risking their livelihoods," Goldberg said.
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More background
The Berkshire Eagle reported that Trump raised steel and aluminum tariffs to 50% in June 2025, which put more strain on craft brewers. The Brewers Association estimated that aluminum cans made up 75% of what craft brewers sell in packaged beer, by both volume and revenue, based on early 2025 sales. The Cato Institute said steel tariffs were also making kegs and brewhouses more expensive.
Higher prices can show up in many everyday places like neighborhood liquor stores and small breweries. Local employers also face more pressure as they decide whether to absorb those costs, raise prices, or scale back production.
What's being done?
Goldberg said her office is trying to relieve some of that strain through the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, which it oversees. Suppliers can ask to change prices right away instead of following the usual monthly filing deadline, she said.
"We are doing everything we can do to support our businesses," Goldberg said. "Normally, out-of-state alcohol suppliers must submit their prices to the commission no later than the first day of the prior month to be in effect for the next month. Recognizing how difficult it is for them to actually be able to do that, we have developed flexibility and trying to support them."
Chris Conrad, president of New England distributor Martignetti Cos., credited that flexibility with helping businesses respond more quickly as trade policy shifts unexpectedly.
"That allows us to make changes as we need on the fly, literally with no day's notice," Conrad said.
The vice president at wine and spirits importer and distributor M.S. Walker, Scott Allen, said his company is choosing to discontinue some products because consumers "just will not tolerate these price increases."
Where can I learn more?
Issues like droughts and packaging restrictions are also interrupting supply chains and making it more difficult for people to access certain goods.
• Across breweries, higher costs and poorer tastes are becoming more likely as drought hits hops supplies.
• In Colorado, craft breweries are facing packaging that creates recycling headaches as distinctive cans frustrate consumers.
• Officials in Tofino, British Columbia, Canada, said single-use water bottle restrictions are overdue and carry penalties for violators.
• Illinois lawmakers approved a sweeping ban on Styrofoam food packaging that could reshape businesses.
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