Distilled Spirits Council cautioned the European Union against retaliating against bourbon and some other U.S. whiskey products. EU issued the threat in the wake of President Trump’s decision to impose tariff on aluminum and steel imports.
Total U.S. spirits exports to the EU in 2017 were valued at $789 million; U.S. whiskey accounted for approximately 85 percent of that total or $667 million. In 2017, U.S. spirits producers used 165 billion pounds of grain.
DSC noted that U.S. and EU spirits exporters have enjoyed duty-free access to each other’s markets for more than two decades. It added:
Any efforts to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. spirits exports to the EU will harm consumers, producers and the U.S. and EU spirits and agriculture sectors.”