Kentucky's bourbon makers are unhappy with Canada, which buys millions of dollars of whiskey a year from the state.
In the days since President Donald Trump's tariffs went into effect, several Canadian provinces have pulled US-made alcohol from store shelves. And any US alcohol they buy could get more expensive: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said he would impose retaliatory 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods.
Eric Gregory, the president of the Kentucky Distillers' Association, said in a Tuesday statement on X that retaliatory tariffs would have "far-reaching consequences across Kentucky, home to 95% of the world's bourbon."
He said Canada's retaliatory measures would "jeopardize growth for years."
Gregory's statement came as several Canadian provinces clamped down on US-made alcohol this week. Provinces such as Ontario and New Brunswick instructed provincially owned alcohol retailers, which regulate the sale and distribution of alcohol in their regions, to pull US products from their shelves.
Ontario's government instructed the Liquor Control Board of Ontario to "immediately" cease imports of US alcohol and stop selling American products, the LCBO said on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the government of New Brunswick said on Facebook that it wouldn't purchase any new US alcohol products. The government said it had removed US-made alcohol products from the shelves of Alcool NB, a government-affiliated alcohol retailer.
Quebec followed suit. The Société des Alcools du Québec, a government-run alcohol retailer, said in a Wednesday X post that it was wiping all US products from branches and its website "at the request of the Québec government."
Before the trade war kicked off, Canada was a large importer of Kentucky-made spirits.
The Canada-Kentucky agricultural trade totaled $691 million in 2023, with Kentucky exporting $43 million worth of whiskey to Canada that year, the Canadian government said on its official site.
And Kentucky imported $40.3 million worth of whiskey from Canada.
Paul Coomes, a professor of economics at the University of Louisville, wrote in a 2023 report that Canada was the biggest importer of Kentucky-made spirits in 2022.
It's not just Kentucky bourbon makers who lamented Canada's retaliatory measures.
Lawson Whiting, the CEO of Brown-Forman, the parent company of Jack Daniel's, said on a Wednesday earnings call that the retaliation was "worse than a tariff" and a "disproportionate response" to Trump's tariffs.
In June, the company said in its annual report that Canada accounted for 1% of total sales, while 45% came from the US.
Trump said in early February that he'd impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Those tariffs were delayed by a month after both countries promised to tighten their border security but went into effect on Tuesday.
Representatives for the Kentucky Distillers' Association didn't respond to a request for comment, sent outside regular business hours.
