ROBERTA NEE ADAMSStaff Writer

The day after Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian goods, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reciprocated in kind, imposing a like 25% tariff on American goods coming into Canada.

However, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), one of the largest buyers of alcohol took the tariff one step further. LCBO is the exclusive wholesaler of alcohol products in Ontario, and has pulled all American products from their shelves. Nova Scotia and Manitoba have followed suit, also pulling all American alcohol products from their shelves.

On a conference call Brown-Forman CEO Lawson Whiting said ”I mean, it’s worse than a tariff, because it is literally taking your sales away, (and) completely removing our products from the shelves,” also calling it “a disproportionate response.”

The move is not expected to significantly impact Brown-Forman’s sales, as Canadian sales are only about 1% of global sales. The company will be closely following global response to tariffs, but still predict an overall increase in sales of 2% to 4% for 2025.

It is not known if the temporary suspension of Canadian tariffs by President Trump this week will have an impact on the suspension of American liquor sales north of the border. Nor is it known if the suspension of American liquor sales will be re-adopted should the tariffs be placed back on Canada following the month’s grace period the President has set.