By Lawson Whiting, CEO of Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniels whiskey, criticized the Canadian boycott against the brand as an excessive and disproportionate reaction to President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian supermarkets.
On Thursday (6), Brown-Forman shares dropped by 0.57%. Whiting emphasized the significant impact of retaliation over Trump’s imposed rates, as it is directly affecting sales, as stated during the company’s teleconference on results.
Canada implemented a 25% tariff on American imports such as wine, spirits, and beer on Tuesday.
Canada accounted for just 1% of Brown-Forman’s total sales in the latest quarter, while Mexico contributed 7% in 2024, requiring more focus according to Whiting, the CEO.
Brown-Forman has been bouncing back from a decrease in demand that started earlier this year, particularly in the USA, Canada, and Europe. However, the company’s growth in emerging markets like Mexico and Poland helped offset this weaker performance.
Commercial deficit in the USA hit a record high in January.
The trade deficit in the US hit a record high of US$131.4 billion in January, marking a 34.0% increase from the previous month’s deficit of US$98.1 billion, as reported by the Department of Commerce on Thursday.
They helped increase the trade deficit by forecasting higher imports to prevent potential tariffs. The percentage increase was the highest since March 2015 and surpassed the predictions of analysts surveyed by “Reuters,” who had anticipated a rise to US$ 127.4 billion.
This week, President Trump implemented 25% tariffs on goods coming from Mexico and Canada, and raised tariffs on products from China to 20%.
U.S. imports rose by 10% to $401.2 billion, the highest level since July 2020.
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