July 22 (Reuters) - Canadian provinces' boycott of U.S.

spirits amid a trade dispute with the United States has caused a

sharp drop in sales of American imports, as well as other

imported and domestic spirits across the nation, a Canadian

liquor trade group said on Tuesday.

Sales of U.S. spirits in Canada dropped 66.3% between March

5, when provinces announced they would stop carrying the

products in retail stores, and the end of April, according to an

analysis by Spirits Canada.

The group, which represents Canadian manufacturers and

marketers of distilled spirits, said total spirits sales in

Canada fell 12.8% during the same period.

"The North American spirits sector is highly interconnected,

and the immediate and continued removal of all U.S. spirits

products from Canadian shelves is deeply problematic for spirits

producers on both sides of the border," said Cal Bricker,

president and CEO of Spirits Canada.

Several Canadian provinces pulled U.S. spirits from liquor

stores in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition

of a 25% tariff on certain imports.

Most recently, Trump's threat to impose a 35% tariff on

Canadian goods starting August 1 has raised concerns about an

escalating trade war and spurred a "Buy Canadian" movement among

consumers and businesses.

In early March, Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman Corp ( BF/A )

called the removal of American bourbon and whiskey from

Canadian liquor stores worse than Canada's retaliatory tariffs

and described it as a disproportionate response to Trump's

levies.

According to Spirits Canada, sales of U.S. spirits in

Ontario, Canada's largest market for spirits, plunged 80% after

the products were removed from shelves. Two provinces, Alberta

and Saskatchewan, have since resumed selling U.S. spirits, the

group said.

The decision to pull U.S. spirits has hurt American

distillers, as well as Canadian revenues, consumers and

hospitality businesses, Spirits Canada added.

Currently, U.S. tariffs are suspended on imports from Canada

that comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Spirits produced in Canada fall under this trade pact.