The Distilled Spirits Council of the US (Discus) has expressed its concerns about President Donald Trump’s latest threat of a 50% levy on imports from the European Union.
The warning comes after the US president initially imposed a 20% tariff on goods from the EU in early April, but within a week, was scaled back to 10% and temporarily suspended. Following a call with the European Commission, Trump has since announced he would delay his threatened 50% tariff on the bloc until 9 July.
Nevertheless, Discus CEO Chris Swonger said in a statement late last week that the association urges “the US and EU to continue negotiations to get distilled spirits back to zero-zero tariffs, which will benefit the US hospitality sector and American distilleries”.
He added: “US 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 aluminium dispute. The EU’s action gave US distillers a glimmer of hope that the US and EU could find common ground and avoid any additional tariff escalation.
“The US-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% 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 US distilleries as well as farms across the country. Distillers on both sides of the Atlantic want toasts not tariffs.”
Earlier this month, Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on virtually all imports into the US prompted the country’s hospitality industry to voice similar concerns over the pending levies.
