Provincial & Federal Response to US Tariffs

Provincial & Federal Response to US Tariffs Dear ABLE BC members and industry colleagues, Here we go again.  As of 12:01 AM today, March 4, the United States President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on nearly all Canadian goods. This is a sad day for Canada and the United States as citizens and businesses on both sides of the border will be injured by this decision.  The Government of Canada immediately hit back with a first round of counter tariffs on $30-billion of U.S. goods, followed by another $125-billion of tariffs in 21 days.  BC’s Premier David Eby announced this morning that the provincial government will be pulling all “red state” products from BC Liquor Store shelves. We echo Premier Eby's sentiments: "We are strong, we are tough, we are resilient, we are exceptional and we are ready to meet this moment." ABLE BC is working with the Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) on what this will look like for licensees across the province. We will provide further updates as they are available. Until then, the LDB has produced a resource based on vendor-provided data, featuring all active Canadian products with recorded sales in the past two years. LDB's CANADIAN PRODUCT INFORMATION Analysts predict that these tariffs could lead to a 2.5% decline in Canada's GDP by early 2026, an increase in the inflation rate to 7.2% by mid-2025, and a rise in unemployment to 7.9% by the end of 2025, potentially resulting in approximately 150,000 job losses. While provincial and federal leaders look at long terms solutions such as reducing inter-provincial trade barriers, expanding access to international markets, and promoting growth at home, our best defence is unity. Now more than ever, we need to stick together as a community and as a country. There’s never been a better time to buy Canadian and to support local businesses. As always, ABLE BC is here to support our members and our industry. We will never stop fighting for you. - Jeff Guignard, Executive Director LEARN MORE Copyright © 2024 BC's Alliance of Beverage Licensees (ABLE BC) 970 - 1050 W Pender Street, Vancouver, V6E 3S7 Canada unsubscribe or update your email preferences here