Punch Drunk

Lisa Hawkins, the chief of Communications and Public Affairs for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States posted on LinkedIn that "It's time to put American spirits back on the shelves in Canada. U.S. distillers have nothing to do with this trade dispute."

The overall response to Ms. Hawkins' post was sharp and swift. Several Canadians in the comments thread, associating the spirits industry in America with Red states, were quick to point out that the distillers got what they paid for, and the point that Canadian businesses are just as blameless as the distillers was also raised.

What rational incentive do people in Canada have to take actions that the Trump administration will surely see as needy and weak? The trade dispute that Ms. Hawkins notes that "U.S. distillers have nothing to do with" didn't start in Ottawa. It started in Washington. If the White House is willing to sacrifice the American spirits industry as part of its unilateral trade warring, it doesn't make sense for Canadians to roll over to bail them out. The problem lies with 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and Ms. Hawkins' appeal to Canada demonstrates that Distilled Spirits Council lacks (or is afraid to use) the access and/or the influence to obtain the Administration's agreement to mitigate it.

President Trump used to claim that trade wars were painless, and easy to win. He's now changed that tune, saying that the manufacturing boom is between 18 and 24 months away, and that there will be pain in the meantime. We'll see if the distillers can hold on that long, or if they can convince Americans to drink more liquor.