TORONTO — U.S. Products will continue to remain on LCBO shelves and restaurant menus after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the tariffs on Canada, including 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods and 10 per cent on Canadian energy, have been delayed 30 days.
Prior to this announcement, bars and restaurants were given a list of U.S. wines and 324 spirits SKUs that would be no longer available to purchase from the LCBO. While not exhaustive, top-selling impacted SKUs will include Titos, Bacardi, all bourbons, Jack Daniels, Kraken Rum, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Kahula, Jim Beam and Sour Puss.
Now, restaurants will have until March 1 to see if they’ll have to stop selling American-made alcoholic beverages while Prime Minister Trudeau works with President Donald Trump to keep the tariffs at bay.
Ahead of this announcement, Kris Barnier, VP, Central Canada, Restaurants Canada said, “We’re calling out that restaurants will have to change menus and product offerings, which will include pricing impacts. We continue to address alcohol wholesale-pricing opportunities. We’re also broadly calling out that U.S.-led measures, and Canadian retaliatory measures, will impact restaurant prices, supply chains, and consumer spending. We are therefore calling on governments to provide support that will help our sector protect restaurant locations and jobs.”
Restaurants Canada is working closely with the federal government to address industry concerns, highlighting the sector’s role as the fourth-largest private sector employer and its significant impact on industries such as agriculture. In a statement yesterday, the association urged policymakers to exempt food and food packaging from retaliatory tariffs to avoid further inflationary pressures on essential goods. The $120-billion foodservice industry, employing 1.2 million Canadians, can’t withstand further cost increases after enduring years of pandemic and inflationary pressures.
The organization is also calling on the government to prioritize job retention should the trade dispute lead to major job losses. Wage-support programs, rather than immediate EI measures, would help businesses sustain employment and support economic recovery.
The full list of targeted goods can be found here
