The makers of Jack Daniel’s have responded after a video of the popular whiskey brand being removed from Canadian stores went viral.A video circulating online shows shopkeepers in a Canadian store taking the liquor off shelves, seemingly in reaction to tariffs imposed by Donald Trump and the subsequent response from Justin Trudeau, Canada’s outgoing prime minister.Earlier this week, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) removed U.S.-made alcoholic beverages from its shelves, a move that has been criticized by Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel’s.Lawson Whiting, the company’s CEO, said during a financial earnings call: “I mean, that’s worse than a tariff because it’s literally taking your sales away, completely removing our products from the shelves.”The CEO called the counter-tariffs introduced by Canada “disproportionate,” though he noted that Canada accounts for only one percent of their total sales, according to The Guardian.Jack Daniel’s being removed from Mexican store shelves may pose a greater challenge for the alcohol maker, as sales in that country account for seven percent of its 2024 revenue.Looking ahead, Whiting predicts “continued uncertainty and headwinds in the external environment.”Last month, Trump signed an order imposing tariffs to “hold China, Mexico, and Canada accountable for their promises to halt the flood of poisonous drugs into the U.S.” The order placed an additional 25 percent tariff on goods imported from Canada and Mexico.Trump stated that the only “solution” for Canada to avoid the tariff would be to “become [the U.S.’s] cherished 51st state,” an idea Canada, of course, rejected.The order also claimed there is a “growing production of fentanyl in Canada,” and that enough fentanyl was seized at the northern border last fiscal year to kill 9.8 million Americans.
Jack Daniel’s have been impacted by the tariffs
Trudeau, on the other hand, has argued that “less than one percent of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada” and that the country has “worked relentlessly to address this scourge that affects Canadians and Americans alike.”However, this argument failed to change the situation, leading to further escalation.Canada responded with its own counter-tariffs, stating that they are not willing to let Trump’s “unjustified decision go unanswered” and are also engaged in “active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures.””While we urge the U.S. administration to reconsider their tariffs, Canada remains firm in standing up for our economy, our jobs, our workers, and for a fair deal,” Trudeau said.
