Distilled Spirits Council of the U. S. (DISCUS) said it was granted $564,818 through its partnership with from the Agriculture Department’s Market Access Program (MAP) to promote American spirits exports in 2021, a 10% increase over 2020 funding levels.
“Since 2014, DISCUS’ MAP activities have directly resulted in nearly $6 million in new exports for craft distillers across the United States,” said Charles McEntee, DISCUS Manager, Export Promotions.
DISCUS began participating in the program in 2006 and has conducted spirits promotions in cooperation with USDA in 18 foreign markets. Since that time, total U.S. spirits exports increased by nearly 85 percent, from $831 million in 2006 to $1.54 billion in 2019.
This past year, DISCUS conducted MAP trade promotions in Germany, China, South Africa and Japan.
In addition to MAP, DISCUS applied for and received $1,215,000 in 2019 under USDA’s Agriculture Trade Program (ATP), which was set up specifically to assist those agricultural groups that are being adversely impacted by retaliatory tariffs. The program expires at the end of 2021.
Under ATP, DISCUS has implemented media campaigns in Mexico, Canada, the EU and UK to build greater awareness among adult consumers of American Whiskey and help regain market share lost as a result of retaliatory tariffs on American Whiskey. Since the EU’s 25 percent retaliatory tariff went into effect in June 2018, American Whiskey exports to the EU have tumbled by 41 percent.