Blackcurrant production in the United States is relatively limited. The blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum) was introduced by English settlers at the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629 and was cultivated on some scale, particularly in New York. The plant acts as a host for the white pine blister rust that threatened the timber industry. In 1911, the federal government banned the cultivation, sale, and transport of blackcurrants to protect the white pine. Government programs systematically destroyed blackcurrant plants by chemical spraying.
The federal ban was lifted in 1966, though many states maintained their own bans. Research showed that blackcurrants could be safely grown some distance from white pines and this, together with the development of rust-immune varieties and new fungicides, led to most states lifting their bans by 2003. Blackcurrants are now grown commercially in the Northeastern United States and the Pacific Northwest. Because of the long period of restrictions, blackcurrants are not popular in the United States, and one researcher has estimated that only 0.1% of Americans have eaten one.