The head of Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman, CEO Lawson Whiting, lashed out Wednesday, calling Canada’s yanking of U.S. liquor from store shelves “worse than a tariff” and a “wild overreaction” to the Trump administration’s trade levies.
Several Canadian provinces have pulled American booze—including Brown-Forman’s iconic whiskey—as a counterstrike to Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, which hit Tuesday alongside a 10% energy levy. Canada matched with its own 25% tariffs on U.S. imports like wine, spirits, and beer.
“It’s not just a tax—it’s a total knockout,” Whiting said on a post-earnings call. “They’re wiping our products off the map.” Still, he shrugged off the blow, noting Canada’s measly 1% slice of the company’s sales. “We’ll weather it,” he said, though he’s keeping an eye on Mexico, a heftier 7% of 2024 revenue per their annual report.
Brown-Forman’s stock jumped 8% after the company stuck to its yearly outlook, tariffs baked in. Whiting admitted “choppy waters and uncertainty” loom, but he’s bullish on the firm’s path. Demand’s been sluggish in the U.S., Canada, and Europe this year—offset by hotter sales in Mexico and Poland—prompting cost-slashing, including layoffs. Analysts peg it as a survival play in a rocky spirits market.