Washington, DC. Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) president and CEO Chris Swonger recently underscored, however, that while the spirits sector has remained resilient during the pandemic, the uneven economic impacts of Covid-19 remain for certain segments of the U.S. hospitality industry.
“The twists and turns of this pandemic continue to create volatility in the recovery of restaurants and bars,” said Swonger. “Restaurants showed signs of roaring back during the first half of the year, but sales stalled in the second half with the new spike in COVID cases, staff shortages and supply chain disruptions.”
Sales volumes at on-premise establishments, which represent about 20% of the U.S. market, were up 53% in 2021 following nationwide restaurant and bar closures and restrictions. Off-premise sales volumes, which saw sharp gains in 2020, were flat in 2021.
Since the start of the pandemic, the National Restaurant Association reports that about 90,000 restaurants have temporarily or permanently closed, and the industry still hasn’t recovered more than 650,000 jobs.
In the public policy arena, Swonger highlighted a number of victories in 2021 on the federal and state levels including the important progress on the tariffs front.
“After three very difficult years of sagging American whiskey exports, the EU and U.S. are back to a zero-for-zero tariff agreement on distilled spirits thanks to the Biden administration’s efforts to reset trade relations and bring an end to the needless damage being done to U.S. businesses caught up in the trade disputes,” said Swonger. “It’s time now for the UK to lift its tariff on American Whiskeys so we can get back to sharing the special taste, heritage and quality of America’s native spirit with our UK consumers.”
Federal:
- A two-year suspension of the EU tariffs on American Whiskey in steel-aluminium dispute and a five-year suspension of U.S., UK and EU tariffs on spirits products in Boeing-Airbus dispute
- Inclusion of small distilleries in the Restaurant Revitalization Fund legislation
- Inclusion of historic impaired driving prevention measures in the federal infrastructure bill
State:
- Cocktails to-go now permanent in 16 states; additional 14 states passed legislation to extend measure
- Retailer home delivery laws passed in eight states
- Tax reductions secured for spirits-based RTDs in Michigan and Nebraska
- Passage of N.C. law permitting distilleries to sell bottled spirits on Sunday
2022 Legislative & Policy Priorities:
Swonger also outlined top priorities for the coming year including:
- Securing the immediate suspension of UK tariffs on American whiskeys
- Continued support of the Restaurant Revitalization Act funding for restaurants, bars and distilleries affected by the ongoing pandemic
- Legislation to permit the U.S. Postal Service to ship beverage alcohol in those states where it is currently permitted
- Fairer tax treatment and increased access for spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) products in the states
Expanded marketplace modernizations including cocktails to-go, spirits direct-to-consumer shipping and the repeal of existing Sunday sales bans in SC, NC, MT, TX and MS.
