The United States government has pinpointed Quebec’s Bill 96, “An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec,” as a hindrance that could impact trade between the U.S. and Canada.
The 2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, published last month, highlights “significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic commerce.”
It outlines, country by country, what the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) believes to be “unfair trade practices [that] undermine U.S. exporters’ competitiveness and, in some cases, prevent U.S. goods from entering the foreign market entirely.”
Under the Canadian banner, the government has classified Bill 96 as a “technical” barrier to trade.
The report explains these are “unnecessarily trade restrictive standards” that include “unnecessary or discriminatory technical regulations or standards.”
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In its explanation, the USTR states that U.S. businesses are worried about the impact Bill 96 could have on their “federally registered trademarks” for products manufactured after June 1, 2025, “when the relevant provisions of Bill 96 enter into force.”
“These businesses will need to review their non-French language trademarks on the products’ packaging and labelling and translate into French any part of their trademark that contains a ‘generic term’ or a ‘description of the product,‘” it notes.
The report goes on to state that last June, the U.S. approached Canada about the bill at the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade meeting.
“The United States encouraged the Quebec provincial government to take into consideration business sector concerns and involve businesses in the drafting of further interpretive guidance on this law and the final regulation,” it concludes.
Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce President Véronique Proulx, who has been meeting with key stakeholders in Washington D.C. this week, said Bill 96 did come up as a non-tariff concern.
However, she said that “in [her] understanding, it’s not a major issue.”
“Everything that’s non-tariff barriers are being put on the table, and eventually this might be used for a renegotiation within the trade agreement,” she said.
‘Non-negotiable’
However, François Legault’s government, as well as all the opposition parties, stood firm on Tuesday, saying the U.S. administration has no business interfering with Quebec’s language laws.
French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge said the document was “no surprise.”
He told journalists at the National Assembly that it’s “normal, responsible and reasonable for the only francophone state in North America” to defend the French language.
“We will not go back. It’s non-negotiable to have French labelling ... we won’t change our laws to accommodate the U.S.,” he said.
Roberge said he doesn’t believe business relations between Quebec and the U.S. are at stake because of language laws, insisting that Bill 96 was one concern out of about 300 listed in the document.
Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal echoed the sentiment, saying that there will be “no negotiations” on the French language and that talks against Quebec’s interests will never take place.
Parti Québécois (PQ) Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said that the U.S. administration has always criticized Quebec’s language particularities, but that won’t change decisions made at the National Assembly, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s apparent hostility.
“Of course, the reasoning is that we should all be Americans and all speak English to make sure that your multinationals don’t need to put anything in French on your products,” said Plamondon.
Interim Liberal (PLQ) Leader Marc Tanguay, whose party voted against Bill 96, said how Quebec conducts business is “none of [Trump‘s] business,” sending a clear message to Americans: “don’t go there.”
Court challenges
Bill 96, sponsored by Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, was first adopted in Quebec in 2022.
It aims to introduce sweeping reforms to the province’s already existing language law.
Its reach extends from the health sector to the education network, even capping enrollment at English-language CEGEPs, as well as business signage and services available to newcomers to the province, among others.
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It would also limit the use of the English language in court and other public agencies.
Bill 96 is currently being challenged in the Quebec courts, with some groups begging the federal government to intervene.
