Christine Fréchette

Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette said she is open to letting US wines return to provincial liquor store shelves, but only if Washington delivers trade concessions such as lower tariff barriers on forestry, aluminum, and manufacturing. The premier framed the conditions as leverage ahead of steep new American duties arriving this month, while critics contend the wine ban has done little to move US trade policy while denying Quebec consumers choice. Fréchette said the province must first see concrete gains at the negotiating table before it reverses course. …Fréchette also set out limits on what Quebec will accept in the ongoing trade talks. She said she will not entertain proposals that weaken the province’s supply management system, nor any changes touching Quebec culture and language. Those red lines, she indicated, will hold regardless of what Washington puts on the table.