U.S. lists Quebec’s language law as ‘trade barrier’, Legault has ‘no intention of softening’

Quebec has no intention of softening its language laws, Premier François Legault said Tuesday after the U.S. listed his government's French-language reform as a barrier to trade.

Quebec has no intention of softening its language laws, Premier François Legault said Tuesday after the United States listed his government’s French-language reform as a barrier to trade.

“It’s non-negotiable,” Legault told The Canadian Press during an economic mission in Hannover, Germany, one day before President Donald Trump is expected to impose new tariffs on Canada under the pretext that U.S. companies are being treated unfairly north of the border.

“There may be compromises we can make on certain products like aluminum,” Legault said about Quebec’s major export that has been hit with 25 per cent U.S. tariffs. “But there is no question of compromising on French.”

On Monday, the office of the U.S. trade representative released a report on “foreign trade barriers” and included Quebec’s Bill 96, a sweeping reform strengthening the province’s language law. Describing the legislation as a “technical barrier to trade,” the report says U.S. firms have complained about a provision set to take effect on June 1 requiring companies to translate into French any part of their trademark on product packaging that contains generic terms or descriptions of items.

“U.S. businesses have expressed concerns about the impact that Bill 96 will have on their federally registered trademarks,” the document says.

Provisions of Quebec’s 2022 language reform are being phased in gradually, with the provincial government describing the law as a moderate response to what it says is the declining use of French, particularly in Montreal.

The U.S. government’s report is almost 400 pages long, and includes descriptions of what officials consider trade barriers in scores of countries, from Algeria to Vietnam. The section on Canada also includes supply management — which regulates dairy, poultry, and eggs in the country — limits on imports of bulk fruits and vegetables, and the barriers imposed by provincial liquor control boards.

The document is prepared every year for the president and members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, but the Quebec law did not appear on last year’s edition. However, the administration of former president Joe Biden had raised concerns about the legislation’s potential impacts on businesses and on trade between the U.S. and Canada.