Торговая война США и Канады создает турбулентность для производителей виски

Black Velvet whisky maker facing 'unsettling turbulence' amid Canada-U.S. trade dispute Kentucky-based Heaven Hill celebrated 75th anniversary of Lethbridge-made whisky on Wednesday A U.S.-based distiller celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Lethbridge-produced Black Velvet whisky brand this week. But amid the cheery mood at Wednesday’s event at the southern Alberta distillery, the most recent round of tariffs has created “unsettling turbulence” for the business, said Claude Bilodeau, vice-president and general manager of Black Velvet Distilling Company, which is owned by Kentucky-based Heaven Hill Brands. The United States’ new 50 per cent tariffs on billions of Canadian exports, including alcohol, came into effect Aug. 22. In response, the federal government has announced dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of U.S. goods, to take effect Tuesday. The Lethbridge facility makes about 10 million litres of whisky a year, but it’s bottled in the United States and 95 per cent of the Lethbridge-produced alcohol ends up being sold south of the border. “It’s definitely going to negatively affect us in the short term, but in the long run we don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Bilodeau about the impact of tariffs. Bilodeau hopes Canada and the U.S. soon reach a trade deal. Asked if tariffs would stop Heaven Hill from making whisky in Lethbridge, Bilodeau replied the company has “no idea what the future holds.” “It’s certainly our hope that it doesn’t,” he said. Black Velvet whisky, originally called “Black Label" when it first came out of the barrel in 1951, has since 1973 been made at the Lethbridge distillery, where Black Velvet Canadian Whisky and Golden Wedding Canadian Whisky are currently produced. Black Velvet looking to sell more whisky in Canada By late October or early November, Bilodeau hopes a small bottling line will be added to the Lethbridge distillery, to serve the Canadian market out of the facility. “The majority of our market right now is the United States, but we are anxious to get active again in Canada,” said Bilodeau. - Ottawa's counter-tariffs find broad support in Canada as businesses brace for trade war impact - Canada has leverage in this trade fight, but economists warn it comes with a cost Despite the trade dispute, Bilodeau feels “very good” about the future due to the upcoming reintroduction of bottling in Lethbridge and the launch of new products. “To be able to offer those products back into the Canadian market is our dream,” said Bilodeau. “That will help our brand back in Canada.” Another Canadian whisky maker closely watches U.S.-sourced inputs Another Canadian whisky maker says it's keeping a close eye on the tariff situation to ensure costs are kept down. Michael Nychyk, president of High River, Alta.-based Highwood Distillers, owned by Nova Scotia-based Caldera Distilling Inc., said the biggest impact of tariffs on the business are U.S.-sourced inputs — such as bottles and labels — which are either from our southern neighbour or distributed from the United States by foreign companies. "We're trying to mitigate anything going through the U.S, and we've been quite successful at that," he said. Years ago, the company set a direction to have imports come directly into Canada rather than through the U.S. "hub of distribution," said Nychyk. "We've had that tack prior to tariffs, so we were somewhat protected going into it, and ever so more focused now." The business pulled out of the U.S. market after the devastating June 2013 flood in High River and Calgary, and started producing alcohol again that October with a focus on the Canadian market, said Nychyk. "The U.S. isn't affecting us in terms of our product movement or sale, because we're so focused on our own side of the border," he said. The company sees plenty of room to grow within the Canadian market without again starting to sell its products, which include its Centennial and White Owl whiskies, in the United States, said Nychyk.