Featured Image Credit: Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Topics: Canada, Donald Trump, Food and Drink, Alcohol, US News, Politics, World News
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Canada, Donald Trump, Food and Drink, Alcohol, US News, Politics, World News
You might have been left wondering what Canada has against Jack Daniel's.
Earlier his month, The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) announced that it was removing US drinks from shop shelves — a threat Ontario premier Douglas Ford first made back in January.
A statement from the LCBO issued at the time of its decision read that it had 'ceased the purchase of all US products', adding that 'retail customers are no longer able to purchase US products on lcbo.com and the LCBO app, and wholesale customers, including grocery and convenience stores, bars, restaurants, and other retailers, are no longer able to place orders of US products online', as per Just Drinks.
Since then, a video of one shop worker removed Jack Daniel's from shelves has gone viral.
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But why have drinks like Jack Daniel's been removed from stores in Canada? It all comes down to Donald Trump's tariff threats.
The US and Canada are currently embroiled in a trade war after Trump said he was going to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods imported into America, which has since come into force.
In retaliation, Canada has imposed 25 percent tariffs on US goods imported into the country. Then the LCBO took it a step further and pulled American alcohol from Canadian stores.
And the decision has been applauded by some people. Discussing the matter, Leah Russell, manager at Toronto's Madison Avenue pub, told BBC News: "I'm glad that we're getting rid of American products and supporting local businesses. I think it's an important thing to do."
But Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel's, isn't terribly pleased about it.
Addressing the viral video of the shop worker removing JD from shelves, Lawson Whiting, the company's CEO, said in 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."
In the wake of the ongoing tariff war between the neighboring countries, Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has hailed the hikes as 'unjustified'.
Noting that America had initially paused its plans to impose higher tariffs on Canadian goods, Trudeau said in a statement issued on March 3: "After a 30-day pause, the United States administration has decided to proceed with imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports and 10 per cent tariffs on Canadian energy.
"Let me be unequivocally clear – there is no justification for these actions."
The following day, the LCBO announced that it was pulling US liquors from stores.