Chairman of the US Wine Trade Alliance unpacks the economic prospects for the wine industry on ‘The Claman Countdown’.
President Donald Trump’s rate blitz shakes up the global drink market, whereby the payback period of the European Union monitors that can touch in America where it hurts.
The drinking company is different from all others. It is very regulated, globally entangled and steeped in the cultural identities of the countries that produce their beloved spirits.
Last year the US exported $ 2.4 billion in hard alcohol, according to figures from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a trade association established in Washington. Based on 2024, the European Union is the best customer in America, who imports around $ 1.2 billion in American spirits.
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These figures have risen by around 60% compared to 2021, largely due to the suspension of the 25% retaliation rates from the European Union at American whiskey that were introduced in 2018.
The EU selected Bourbon in 2018 because the product is clearly American, according to a conference resolution, and it hit back in Kentucky, the home of a Trump Republican ally, senator Mitch McConnell.
The Bluegrass State is the beating heart of Bourbon, produces 95% of the world’s offer, employs more than 23,000 employees and generates a cool $ 9 billion annually, according to figures that are provided Kentucky Distillers’ Association.
An employee moved barrels from Bourbon on the Jim Beam -Distillery 17 February 2020, in Clermont, KY. (Bryan Woolston / Getty Images / Getty images)
Chris Swonger, President and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, explained that the EU-US trade relationship was almost improved of those Tit-For-Tat rates during Trump’s first presidency.
EU retribution rates on the American spirit market caused a decrease of 20% in the export of American -made whiskey, which cost the spirit industry of the country around $ 112 million. However, as soon as the rate had been removed in 2021, those exports roared back to the EU trade. In 2024, the import of the American whiskey rose to $ 699 million.
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SWonger warned that the 30% rates “could activate retribution rates on American spirits that hurt small American distilleries throughout the country and the farmers on which they trust to make these special local products.”
Bottles Whiskey are sitting on a shelf in the whiskey shop of Mike in Munich, Germany. (Peter Kneffel / Picture Alliance via Getty Images / Getty images)
Until now, the European Union, the best trading partner in America and the world’s largest trade block, has stopped the imposition of retaliation rates. President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission said that potential countermeasures, including American wine and spirits, can be delayed until 1 August, a movement that gives the 27-member block breathing space to negotiate a trade agreement.
The current entry of the US is around $ 3.4 billion in EU spirits such as Spanish sherry, Italian Grappa and Polish Wodka. The American market bought around $ 135 million in Irish whiskey and $ 1.2 billion in French cognac in 2024.
‘This is not just a wine problem – it is a matter of American jobs’
An employee picks Cabernet Sauvignon grapes during a harvest in Gilbert Orchards in the Horse Hemels region near Kennewick, Wash., 24 October 2024. (Emree Weaver / Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty images)
The US is the best export market in Europe for wine, which, according to the European Wine Companies, yields around $ 5.4 billion for industry for industry.
In the US, European wines contribute almost $ 24 billion to the US economy, according to Benjamin Aneff, president of the US Wine Trade Alliance.
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“This is not just a wine problem – it’s a matter of American jobs,” said Aneff. “We are witnessing real -time dismissal, shrinking income and closed activities. Losing this enormous surplus of much -needed income that the fourth quarter is going into, would be a gut party for industry and result in a huge number of lost jobs here at home.”
Aneff said, however, that he is hopeful that Trump “can” quickly come up with the EU who cuts wine from any rates. “
