Forty-seven U.S. associations representing all tiers of the beverage alcohol industry are marking National Agriculture Day with the launch of the Toasts Not Tariffs Coalition to advocate for the permanent removal of all EU, UK and U.S. tariffs on beverage alcohol products in connection to the steel and aluminum and WTO Boeing/Airbus disputes.
Coalition members represent the entire three-tier chain of the U.S. alcohol industry including distillers and vintners who make the products, importers and wholesalers who distribute the products, and liquor stores and restaurants that sell the products.
“From barrel makers to warehouse workers and restaurant serving staff, these protracted trade disputes that are totally unrelated to the alcohol sector are having a very real and harmful effect on American jobs,” the coalition said. “By joining together, the Toasts Not Tariffs Coalition is sending a unified and clear message that these retaliatory tariffs on beverage alcohol products must come to an immediate end.”
The U.S., EU and UK recently announced four-month suspensions of U.S. tariffs on certain EU and UK distilled spirits and wines, and EU tariffs on U.S. spirits in the WTO Boeing/Airbus disputes. However, the EU and UK continue to impose a 25% tariff on American Whiskeys, including Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey, in the steel and aluminum dispute. The EU’s tariff on American Whiskey will double to a devastating 50 percent on June 1, 2021.