Scotch And Irish Whiskies Added To U.S. Tariff Targets
July 3, 2019The number of imported drinks categories in the crosshairs of U.S. tariff threats keeps proliferating. On Monday, the U.S. Trade Representative added $4 billion in additional European Union goods to its list of potential tariff targets in its battle with the E.U. over aircraft subsidies. The new list includes Scotch and Irish whiskies, building on an earlier set of targeted products that included brandy, liqueurs, cordials, wine, and non-alcoholic beer.
Industry groups on both sides of the Atlantic have spoken out against the proposed tariffs. “These tariffs, if imposed, will have numerous unintended negative consequences on U.S. jobs, U.S. consumers, and many U.S. companies that export to the E.U.,” the Distilled Spirits Council warned. “U.S. companies–from farmers to suppliers to retailers–are already being negatively impacted by the imposition of retaliatory tariffs by key trading partners on certain U.S. distilled spirits resulting from other trade disputes, and these additional tariffs will only inflict further harm.”
The Scotch Whisky Association added, “Exports of Scotch Whisky to the U.S. have been zero tariff for 20 years, so it’s disappointing that Scotch whisky has been drawn into this dispute. There is a close relationship between U.S. whiskies and Scotch whisky, not least due to the use of Bourbon casks for maturation which generates around £70 million ($88m) for the U.S. economy each year.”—Daniel Marsteller
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