FILE – In this March 4, 2011, file photo, a bartender begins to pour a drink from a bottle of Jack Daniels at a bar in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Like a watered-down drink, domestic sales for American whiskeys were unsatisfying in 2024, as inflation reined in consumer spending on some distilled spirits. But it’s tariffs that loom as one of the stiffest challenges ahead, threatening to deplete sales in key foreign markets, an industry group said Tuesday.
Brewing trade conflicts with Canada and Mexico risk driving up the price of U.S. spirits in those markets. The biggest risk is in the European Union, where tariffs are set to resume April 1 at double the rate on American whiskey producers, who again find themselves ensnared in a trade dispute over steel and aluminum. The new tariff would undo the strong rebound in American whiskey sales in Europe since a 25% EU tariff was suspended a few years ago, the Distilled Spirits Council said.
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“The reimposition of these tariffs at a 50% rate would gut this growth and do irreparable harm to distillers large and small,” Chris Swonger, the council’s CEO, said of the EU.
An unwanted double: US sales fall for American whiskeys as threats of a trade war heat up
