U.S. booze off the shelves on Tuesday, as N.L. prepares tariff response

The government and industries in Newfoundland and Labrador are taking drastic measures to combat Trump's tariffs. 

Following other provinces, Premier Andrew Furey made a post on social media Sunday afternoon announcing that on Tuesday, U.S. products will be pulled off the shelves at liquor stores across the province. 

The Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation website lists 288 wines, 141 spirits and 3 beers from the United States.

"I ask people here and around the world to buy responsibly and support us in standing up to the American bully next door," said Furey in the post. 

Tariffs have put major N.L. industries including fisheries and mining at risk 

Furey made a statement Saturday afternoon condemning the U.S. tariffs, calling again for a united "team Canada" approach between all provinces, territories and Ottawa. 

That statement followed U.S. President Donald Trump imposing a 25 percent tariff on almost all Canadian goods. In response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a 25 per cent retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods. Both tariff orders are to take effect on Tuesday.

In a social media post made Saturday evening, Furey also called upon residents to shop local, and seek out products made in Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador. 

He also said the province will "respond appropriately and support those affected."

Furey said he will give more details on the measures his government will take to protect Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and combat U.S. tariffs in a press conference Monday afternoon. 

Time to strategize 

Now that there are retaliatory tariffs against the United States, Memorial University international business expert Tom Cooper said businesses and Canadian consumers will be impacted. 

He said that In N.L., industries will feel the U.S. tariffs, but now also Canadian businesses and consumers will be bearing the brunt of Canada's retaliatory tariff.

"It's really important to show a unified front," said Cooper. "This is gonna hurt Canadian consumers, it's gonna hurt Canadian businesses." 

While industries are exploring new markets domestically and internationally, Cooper said that pivot will be hard to make right away. Therefore, he suggests that the government look at making life cheaper for Canadians by perhaps lowering the GST/HST or cutting Bank of Canada rates to make borrowing easier. 

He said that Canadians can't anticipate how long this trade war will play out, but for now, he said the most important thing is for Canadians to focus on avoiding buying U.S. goods and finding alternatives from Canada or other countries.

 "I think as consumers, we have to look at where the products that we're buying, where they're coming from," said Cooper.

Unions fortifying defences 

With more than a third of N.L. exports currently going to the U.S., Furey said that potential tariffs could impact over 10,000 jobs. 

This is something that the president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour, Jessica McCormick, has been preparing for since December as a member of the Premier's Roundtable on Trade.

She said her priority is to avoid layoffs and ensure economic support for workers. Until industries can find new markets, she suggests the government look at loan guarantees, wage subsidy programs, or extended employment insurance benefits for workers.

McCormick said that, right now, workers really want information from the federal government on how they will be impacted by tariffs, and what economic support will be available for them.

"People are already living through an affordability crisis here in this country. So it's already difficult to make ends meet, and this is going to put more pressure on people," McCormick said. 

She added that the government needs to start thinking about how to utilize domestic trade to support Canadians. 

"Nobody is thanking Donald Trump right now about this, but I think it's starting some conversations that are long overdue," she said.

"Step one is rethinking how we purchase, rethinking how we buy, rethinking where we consume."

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.