Vermont Business Magazine Ryan Christiansen, president of Caledonia Spirits, makers of Barr Hill products, posted Saturday on LinkedIn that an entire order headed to Quebec was canceled because of the trade war between the United States and Canada initiated by the tariffs imposed by the White House.
In addition to the canceling of this order, Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) has taken off the shelves several famous American wine and spirit brands, including Jack Daniel's and Beringer.
Ryan Christiansen President & Head Distiller at Caledonia Spirits, makers of Barr Hill Gin
2d • Edited • 2 days ago
Following
Collateral damage of a trade war:
'We’ve waited four months to ship an order to Quebec. The order was placed in October of 2024, with a requested ship date in February 2025. On Feb 1, the President made the first tariff announcement. The following Monday the order was palletized and ready to ship on our loading dock, and we received the message that this order had been cancelled.
Fulfilling this order required custom French labels and additional lab work to comply with SAQ alcohol tolerances. We cannot sell these bottles as labeled in the United States. They will require additional re-work, which will add additional cost. Quebec stores are out of stock.
Overnight, Quebec went from a market that we cannot seem to fulfill the consumer driven demand, to a deficit in our business plan we’ll struggle to replace. There are no winners in a trade war. This disruption will hurt our small businesses, local farms, working families, and damage relationships for the long term.
#ToastsNotTariffs hashtag#DISCUS hashtag#tariffs
Vermont Tourism
Phil Scott
Barr Hill by Caledonia Spirits
American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA)
American Distilling Institute
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
hashtag#bravelittlestate hashtag#vermont
Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC)