Haney emphasized the damage that tariffs and reduced exports could have on not only wineries but industries across the board.
“These actions are going to impact not just our wine and our wine industry and wine community, but consumers, hospitality workers, farmers and our communities as well,” Haney said. “There’s a great concern about that.”
In an already challenging economic environment, Sonoma County Vintners has been bracing for these consequences for months, Haney said, and they certainly haven’t been alone.
Canada is one of the Sonoma and Napa wine region’s biggest export partners, according to Haney. Since Sonoma County vineyards are 85% family-owned, he said, the impact that a trade dispute could have on small businesses and families is devastating.
British Columbia’s Premier David Eby also announced this weekend that the province’s liquor distribution branch will stop purchasing alcohol from U.S. states led by Republican governors.
“Tariffs go way beyond political bounds. They’re going to affect Democrats. They’re going to affect Republicans,” Haney said in response. “They’re going to affect Democratic farmers and Republican farmers and Democratic winemakers and Republican winemakers.”
Haney said he’s hoping for a permanent agreement that will keep California wines on Canada’s shelves.
“Let’s take politics out of it,” he said. “We have to remember and keep our consumers, our trade, our communities all in front of our minds here because those are the ones that are going to feel this the most.”