Buffalo distillery concerned by divide between Canadian and U.S. spirits

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Before President Donald Trump agreed to a 30-day pause on tariffs against Canada and Mexico, Ontario Premier Doug Ford ordered American-made liquor to be removed from Canadians shelves.

Even with that pause, the threat of future tariffs concerns one local distillery.

“It’s the first time we’ve experienced this, that’s for sure,” said Justin Hartman, president of Hartman’s Distilling Company.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encouraged Canadians to buy local after the White House threatened tariffs on the country. That spurred Ford to have American-made liquor removed from all alcohol wholesalers in the province.

In a post on social media Monday evening, Trudeau said the pausing of the U.S. tariffs would also pause retaliatory measures. Still, Hartman believes the damage is already done.

“Being so close to the border, we get our fair share of tourists,” said Hartman. “They love trying products. And I would be worried (about) the feeling or sentiment that the Canadians don’t want to partake in any American spirits.”

Hartman believes this potential refusal of American liquor could cause a surplus, hurting Buffalo distilleries.

“Presumably this is going to create quite a surplus here in the United States, drive down prices, and we’re going to have to compete with much lower prices on the shelf,” said Hartman.

Another worry for Hartman isn’t the liquor itself, but how it’s stored. He says over 90% of the glass bottles the distillery uses are made in China and Mexico.

“These increased costs that we now have to spend on the glass are going to either lower our margins, which are already kind of pretty slim to begin with, or we’re going to have to pass it on to the consumer. So now our price is going to go up,” said Hartman.

Hartman added that customers can help by continuing to buy local and support local craft distilleries and craft breweries.

“We hope the Buffalonians rally around us and continue to buy local,” said Hartman.

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Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.

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