Though the tariffs on goods imported to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico have received a temporary reprieve from President Donald Trump, negative consumer sentiment from Canadians about U.S. products has many American companies on edge.
American liquor, wine and spirit brands have been pulled off shelves in many Canadian stores as part of retaliatory measures to Trump's tariffs that are temporarily on hold until April 2.
Lawson Whiting, CEO of Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel's, said the removal of his company's whiskey from Canadian store shelves was "worse than a tariff."
"It's literally taking your sales away completely" and "a very disproportionate response to a 25% tariff," Whiting said during an earnings call on Wednesday.
Whiting said Canada only represents about 1% of Jack Daniel's sales, "so we can withstand" it. Still, Whiting said it was disappointing that some Canadian consumers would not be able to get bottles of Jack Daniel's "because it's a big brand in Canada and popular, but we will see how this this plays out and the rumors continue to float around Canada every day."
Donald Trump kept up the pressure on Ukraine to move ahead with a peace deal as signals emerged that the Kremlin would be willing to accept a temporary truce under certain conditions. As the American president pursues an agreement to end the war triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor three years ago, he's reversed years of US support for Kyiv, instead courting Moscow.
