DISCUS Urges Tariff Resolution To Boost Spirits Exports
October 21, 2024The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) is urging the government to find a long-term agreement with the EU to avoid a return of tariffs on American whiskies in 2025.
The trade group submitted a new report to the United States Trade Representative, outlining the international challenges faced by the spirits industry from threats like tariffs, taxes, and regulatory standards.
The report comes as European tariffs on American whiskey—which are currently suspended—could potentially return and double in severity. A 50% levy is scheduled to go into effect on March 31, 2025, unless the U.S. and EU come to agreement on the unrelated steel and aluminum disputes that spawned the EU’s retaliatory tariffs on whiskey.
“During the past two years that the EU’s retaliatory tariffs on American whiskey have been suspended, U.S. whiskey exports to the EU surged by more than 60%, and total U.S. spirits exports grew to a record high of $2.2 billion in 2023,” said Robert Maron, DISCUS senior vice president for international trade policy and market access. “If these retaliatory tariffs were to return, they would reverse this incredible and much needed rebound in U.S. spirits exports.”—Shane English
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