Distilled Spirits Council President and CEO Chris Swonger Statement 

in Response to President Trump’s Call for a 50% Tariff on EU Imports Starting June 1

“We urge the U.S. and EU to continue negotiations to get distilled spirits back to zero-zero tariffs, which will benefit the U.S. hospitality sector and American distilleries.

U.S. distillers recently breathed a huge sigh of relief when the EU chose not to impose a 50% tariff on American Whiskey in the steel and aluminum dispute. The EU’s action gave U.S. distillers a glimmer of hope that the U.S. and EU could find common ground and avoid any additional tariff escalation.

The U.S.-EU spirits sector was the model for fair and reciprocal trade, having zero-for-zero tariffs from 1997 up until the EU imposed a 25 percent retaliatory tariff on American Whiskey in 2018. Over the past three years that the EU tariffs have been suspended, American Whiskey exports to the EU have soared, supporting jobs at U.S. distilleries as well as farms across the country. Distillers on both sides of the Atlantic want toasts not tariffs.”

-30-