American lawmakers are considering imposing trade sanctions on Canada in the wake Of Quebec’s recent imposition of Bill 96, a crackdown on language law in the province.Bill 96, passed in June 2022, amends the Charter of the French Language and promotes “respecting French” language. It requires businesses to speak and advertize in French. All businesses operating in Quebec or that have employees in the province are subject to the new rules. Companies that operate outside the province but have customers in Quebec are also required to adhere to the new language laws. They must provide French translation equivalent to the same English language standards. Provisions under the new law further affect commercial signs and labels on products, as well as items like trademark paperwork. The legislation went into effect March 2023, with more regulations to be added in the coming weeks. The update bill will go in effect June 2025. US officials are now looking at how Bill 96 violates trade agreements between the two countries, and assessing how Quebec’s new law could impact the volume of goods shipped to Canada as a whole, access to Information records obtained by the CBC show. Officers of the US Trade Representative (USTR) debated whether the legislation is in conflict with pre-existing trade agreements between Canada and the US. It could also be a technical barrier to trade or a breach of trade-related intellectual property rights or a violation of Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the documents state. Those possible breaches could justify trade sanctions, US officials discussed. Records, dated November 2022 to January 2024, do not state a definitive conclusion.Bill 96 draft regulations to implement the legislation were announced January 10. In a meeting with Liberal Deputy Minister for International Trade Rob Stewart later that same month, US officials, including USTR senior adviser Cara Morrow, raised concerns the American government has about Quebec’s Bill 96. Spokesman for Global Affairs Canada Jean-Pierre Godbout said the Trudeau Liberal minority government is “closely following developments.""The Government of Canada is aware of the concerns expressed by various stakeholders regarding Quebec's amendments to the Charter of the French Language as modernized under Bill 96 and accompanying regulations," Godbout wrote in an email to the state broadcaster. "We have shared these concerns with the Government of Quebec and continue to closely follow developments."Spokesman for French Language Minister Jean-François Roberg, Thomas Verville, was ambiguous in his response when asked how the Quebec provincial government responds to the fact US officials are privately discussing imposing sanctions on all of Canada. "We are still at the stage of enacting the regulation. It will soon be final," he wrote to the CBC."We held a consultation period to gather all the comments."Morrow "shared concerns about trademark provisions of Quebec's Bill 96 and their potential implications for U.S businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises," meeting transcripts read. US officials have been monitoring Bill 96 since November 2022, documents show. The International Trademark Association (INTA) has been sounding the alarm too. The association urged the US to voice concerns over Quebec’s language laws and to reconsider its trade position with Canada, imposing sanctions if necessary. INTA also urged the Canadian government to step in. On December 12, 2023, INTA met with Morrow and other USTR officials, as well as multiple major corporations to discuss the issue. Stanley Black & Decker, Hershey, Microsoft, Marriott, Agilent Technology, Cody and Proctor & Gamble all attended. "Of note, they want USTR to investigate 'a complaint for a violation of an international agreement' or bring a Section 301 action against Canada," wrote deputy assistant U.S. trade representative Jacob Ewerdt.
