- Exports in 12 months of last year rise 9.7% on 2023 to US$2.45bn
- American whiskey shipments decline by 5.4% to $1.3bn
- Performance overseas counters 1.1% dip for domestic sales in 2024
Shipments of spirits out of the US rose again last year, according to figures released this week, approaching the US$2.5bn mark for the first time.
In its annual ‘American Spirits Exports‘ report, trade association the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said that for the full year, exports increased by 9.7% in value terms to hit US$2.45bn. The performance marked a new high for the country’s spirits industry, although “concerns over the potential return of tariffs on American whiskeys in 2025” was credited as having been partly responsible for the lift, which progressed faster as the end of the year approached.
Sales of US spirits in the European Union – Discus groups the region as one market – leapt by 39% to $1.2bn, although exports to the rest of the world fell back by 10%, indicating what the organisation described as “a softening of the global spirits market”.
American whiskey sales overseas were down last year by 5.4% to $1.3bn, the report noted. Indeed, the category’s share of total exports declined markedly, from 63% in 2023 to 54% last year.
US vodka sales soared, meanwhile, climbing 82% on the year prior to $292m.
The trade association used the report to highlight the lack of trading clarity facing the US spirits industry as the country’s administration announces, then postpones, tariffs on imports into the country, raising the possibility of retaliatory moves by its trading partners.
“US spirits exports hit a new high in 2024, recapturing lost market share since the UK and EU lifted retaliatory tariffs that were applied between 2018-2021 in connection with two trade disputes,” said CEO Chris Swonger. “Unfortunately, ongoing trade disputes unrelated to our sector have caused uncertainty, keeping many US distillers on the sidelines and curtailing sales growth.
“The EU’s recent decision not to reimpose a retaliatory tariff on American whiskeys and other US spirits is a positive first step toward getting the US-EU spirits sectors back to zero-for-zero tariffs and untangling spirits from these trade disputes.”
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