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Ontario premier threatens to pull US alcohol if Trump imposes tariffs

Ontario premier threatens to pull US alcohol if Trump imposes tariffs
WITH INDUSTRY LEADERS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL IMPACT. IN 2018, THE EUROPEAN UNION IMPOSED A 25% TAX ON AMERICAN WHISKEYS IN RESPONSE TO U.S. TARIFFS ON IMPORTED STEEL AND ALUMINUM. SO THAT WAS LIKE SLAMMING THE BRAKES ON A FREIGHT TRAIN. BUT THOSE TARIFFS WERE TEMPORARILY LIFTED IN 2022 AFTER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION NEGOTIATED WITH THE EU. BUT THE TARIFFS ARE SET TO COME BACK IN MARCH AT 50%. IF NO AGREEMENT IS REACHED. THE KENTUCKY DISTILLERS ASSOCIATION SAYS DURING THE FIRST ROUND OF TARIFFS, THE INDUSTRY LOST ABOUT A HALF $1 BILLION IN EXPORTS. WHEN THESE COME BACK AT 50%, IT WILL BE ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATING, ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATING. AND ITā€™S NOT JUST THE BIG COMPANIES THAT ARE GOING TO FEEL IT. ITā€™S GOING TO TOUCH EVERY FACET OF THE BOURBON INDUSTRY. THE LATEST DATA FROM THE KDA SHOWS THEREā€™S A RECORD 14.3 MILLION BARRELS OF BOURBON AGING. BOURBON PRODUCTION IS UP NEARLY 200% IN THE LAST TEN YEARS, BUT THE KDA IS AFRAID THESE TARIFFS COULD HALT PROGRESS. 95% OF THE GLOBAL SUPPLY IS MADE IN KENTUCKY, SO BOURBON IS AMERICAN JOBS. AND THE WAY YOU GROW THOSE AMERICAN JOBS IS TO OPEN MORE MARKETS. THE KDA SAYS THERE ARE MORE THAN 100 DISTILLERIES ACROSS THE STATE. A MAJORITY ARE CRAFT SELLERS LIKE JEPTHA CREED AND SHELBYVILLE, WHILE JEPTHA CREED DOESNā€™T EXPORT OVERSEAS, THEY SAY THEY WILL STILL FEEL SOME IMPACTS. AUTUMN NETHERY IS VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS DURING THE FIRST ROUND OF TARIFFS. SHE SAYS JEPTHA CREED FELT THE IMPACT. AT THAT TIME, THE THE BIG RETALIATORY TARIFFS ON STEEL AND METAL, ALUMINUM, THOSE PIECES THAT WAS AROUND THE TIME THAT WE WERE TRYING TO EXPAND OUR FERMENTATION SPACE. AND SO, LIKE OUR FERMENTERS COST 25% MORE THAN THEY WOULD HAVE IF THE TARIFFS DIDNā€™T EXIST. SHE SAYS A LOT OF MATERIALS BOURBON DISTILLERS USE COME FROM OVERSEAS, SUCH AS GLASS, CORK AND MORE SO RETALIATORY TARIFFS CAN CAUSE THOSE PRICES TO SKYROCKET, WHICH COULD POSSIBLY LEAD TO ME HAVING TO INCREASE OUR BOTTLE COST. EVEN THOUGH Iā€™M NOT EXPORTING. HER FAMILY STARTED THIS DISTILLERY IN 2016, BUT IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF BOURBON, SHE SAYS, THEREā€™S STILL A YOUNG AND SMALL BUSINESS. AND AT THIS POINT, IF PRICES KEEP GOING UP, Iā€™M NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO EAT THE COST. EVEN THE BIG COMPANIES CANā€™
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Ontario premier threatens to pull US alcohol if Trump imposes tariffs
Kentucky bourbon, Tennessee whiskey, and a range of other American-made booze will vanish from LCBO stores if President Donald Trump imposes a blanket tariff on Canadian goods, Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened Monday.ā€œIā€™ve sent a direction to the LCBO, if these tariffs come, to clear off every bit of U.S. alcohol off the shelves,ā€ Ford said, noting that the Crown corporation is the largest alcohol purchaser in the world.ā€œThey will feel the pain. I will make sure I communicate this to our other premiers that they should be following suit.ā€Trump retook the Oval Office on Monday afternoon and has long threatened to introduce a 25% tariff on all Canadian and Mexican imports, unless both countries secure their borders against illegal migrants and drugs, on the first day of his administration.However, reports from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, citing White House sources, suggest that the incoming commander-in-chief will not impose those sanctions on Monday.Last week, sources confirmed to CTV News that Canada is ready to impose retaliatory tariffs on consumer goods, like Kentucky bourbon and Florida orange juice, if Trump follows through on his threat.Ford has said his government will support those measures and others, along with what he described Sunday as ā€œadditional retaliatory measuresā€ at a provincial level, should they be required. Itā€™s unclear what those additional measures include, but the province has previously mused taxing American-made alcohol and cutting off Ontario power to 1.5 million homes south of the border.Canada previously imposed a tariff on U.S. bourbon and other goods in 2018 in response to Trumpā€™s tax on Canadian steel and aluminum. The then president lifted that tariff in 2019, only to reimpose it briefly, and lift it again in 2020.Ford recalled that exchange while delivering his remarks on Monday at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association Conference in Toronto.ā€œI talked to the great governor of Kentucky. And I remember in the last tariffs, we threw on the bourbon. First thing out of his mouth is ā€˜donā€™t touch my bourbon,ā€™ā€ Ford said.ā€œAnd I said, ā€˜Governorā€™ ā€“ and thatā€™s a serious business down there, when you with their bourbon. Itā€™s like messing with our LCBO ā€“ I said, ā€˜You know governor, youā€™ve gotta talk to your president, because the first thing weā€™re doing: weā€™re getting your bourbon.ā€Ontarioā€™s next scheduled election is still more than a year away, but new polling shows Fordā€™s Progressive Conservatives maintain a nine-point lead over Bonnie Crombieā€™s Liberals.Liaison Strategies released the findings of its poll on Monday. It found that if a provincial election were held today 41% of decided and leaning voters would cast their ballot for the PCs.Ford has not yet ruled out holding an early election before the set date of June 2025, and said last week that if the government is forced to spend cash to stimulate the economy should Trumpā€™s tariffs come to pass, he would need to seek a new mandate from voters.ā€œI think, if it comes to it, and we have to spend tens of billions of dollars, we go to the people. Let the people decide,ā€ he said at the time, later suggesting that the tariffs could cost 500,000 Ontario jobs.Meanwhile, the Liberalsā€™ support climbed to 32%, a level the polling company says it hasnā€™t seen since it started the outreach in 2024.ā€œThis marks a 2-point increase from last week and a 5-point rise since the start of the year,ā€ David Valentin, principal at Liaison Strategies, said in a news release. ā€Interestingly, this growth isnā€™t coming at the expense of the PCs but rather from the smaller parties and the Ontario NDP.ā€Support for the Ontario NDP currently sits at 19%, a two-point drop week-over-week.The undecided voter rate, according to the poll, is at 26%, which Valentin said is likely to drop if and when an election call is made.The poll surveyed close to 1,200 Ontario voters between Jan. 15 and 16. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.83%, 19 times out of 20.

Kentucky bourbon, Tennessee whiskey, and a range of other American-made booze will vanish from LCBO stores if President Donald Trump imposes a blanket tariff on Canadian goods, Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened Monday.

ā€œIā€™ve sent a direction to the LCBO, if these tariffs come, to clear off every bit of U.S. alcohol off the shelves,ā€ Ford said, noting that the Crown corporation is the largest alcohol purchaser in the world.

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ā€œThey will feel the pain. I will make sure I communicate this to our other premiers that they should be following suit.ā€

Trump retook the Oval Office on Monday afternoon and has long threatened to introduce a 25% tariff on all Canadian and Mexican imports, unless both countries secure their borders against illegal migrants and drugs, on the first day of his administration.

However, reports from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, citing White House sources, suggest that the incoming commander-in-chief will not impose those sanctions on Monday.

Last week, sources confirmed to CTV News that Canada is ready to impose retaliatory tariffs on consumer goods, like Kentucky bourbon and Florida orange juice, if Trump follows through on his threat.

Ford has said his government will support those measures and others, along with what he described Sunday as ā€œadditional retaliatory measuresā€ at a provincial level, should they be required. Itā€™s unclear what those additional measures include, but the province has previously mused taxing American-made alcohol and cutting off Ontario power to 1.5 million homes south of the border.

Canada previously imposed a tariff on U.S. bourbon and other goods in 2018 in response to Trumpā€™s tax on Canadian steel and aluminum. The then president lifted that tariff in 2019, only to reimpose it briefly, and lift it again in 2020.

Ford recalled that exchange while delivering his remarks on Monday at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association Conference in Toronto.

ā€œI talked to the great governor of Kentucky. And I remember in the last tariffs, we threw on the bourbon. First thing out of his mouth is ā€˜donā€™t touch my bourbon,ā€™ā€ Ford said.

ā€œAnd I said, ā€˜Governorā€™ ā€“ and thatā€™s a serious business down there, when you [mess] with their bourbon. Itā€™s like messing with our LCBO ā€“ I said, ā€˜You know governor, youā€™ve gotta talk to your president, because the first thing weā€™re doing: weā€™re getting your bourbon.ā€

Ontarioā€™s next scheduled election is still more than a year away, but new polling shows Fordā€™s Progressive Conservatives maintain a nine-point lead over Bonnie Crombieā€™s Liberals.

Liaison Strategies released the findings of its poll on Monday. It found that if a provincial election were held today 41% of decided and leaning voters would cast their ballot for the PCs.

Ford has not yet ruled out holding an early election before the set date of June 2025, and said last week that if the government is forced to spend cash to stimulate the economy should Trumpā€™s tariffs come to pass, he would need to seek a new mandate from voters.

ā€œI think, if it comes to it, and we have to spend tens of billions of dollars, we go to the people. Let the people decide,ā€ he said at the time, later suggesting that the tariffs could cost 500,000 Ontario jobs.

Meanwhile, the Liberalsā€™ support climbed to 32%, a level the polling company says it hasnā€™t seen since it started the outreach in 2024.

ā€œThis marks a 2-point increase from last week and a 5-point rise since the start of the year,ā€ David Valentin, principal at Liaison Strategies, said in a news release. ā€Interestingly, this growth isnā€™t coming at the expense of the PCs but rather from the smaller parties and the Ontario NDP.ā€

Support for the Ontario NDP currently sits at 19%, a two-point drop week-over-week.

The undecided voter rate, according to the poll, is at 26%, which Valentin said is likely to drop if and when an election call is made.

The poll surveyed close to 1,200 Ontario voters between Jan. 15 and 16. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.83%, 19 times out of 20.