Distilled Spirits Council President and CEO Chris Swonger Statement in Response to the EU’s Announcement to Reimpose Tariffs on American Whiskey
For the past three years that the EU’s 25% tariff on American Whiskey has been suspended in the steel and aluminum dispute, U.S. distillers have worked hard to regain solid footing in our largest export market. The EU’s announcement to reimpose these tariffs on American Whiskey at 50% on April 1 is deeply disappointing and will severely undercut the successful efforts to rebuild U.S. spirits exports in EU countries.
The U.S. and EU spirits sectors enjoyed fair and reciprocal zero-for-zero tariffs between 1997 and 2018. Transatlantic trade in spirits increased by nearly 450% during this time.
Many spirits products are recognized as “distinctive products” by the U.S. and EU and can only be made in their designated countries. As a result, the production of these spirits products, including Bourbon, Tennessee Whiskey, Cognac and Irish Whiskey, cannot simply be moved to another country or region.
Reimposing these debilitating tariffs at a time when the spirits industry continues to face a slowdown in U.S. marketplace will further curtail growth and negatively impact distillers and farmers in states across the country.
We urge the U.S. and EU governments to come to a resolution that gets our spirits industry back to zero-for-zero tariffs. This is a model that has allowed spirits exports between the U.S. and EU to flourish and is in line with President Trump’s vision for fair and reciprocal trade.
Background:
- Due to the imposition of the EU’s retaliatory tariff in 2018, American Whiskey exports to the EU, the largest American Whiskey export market, plunged 20%, from $552 million to $440 million (2018-2021).
- During the last three years, American Whiskey exports to the EU surged nearly 60%, climbing from $439 million in 2021 to $699 million in 2024.
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