Kentucky bourbon industry prepares for fallout from new trade wars
Republished from WEKU.
President Trump’s decision to impose new tariffs are a worry for people in a signature Kentucky industry. Of immediate concern to those involved with bourbon are the 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada. In the days before Saturday’s announcement, Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers Association, said he and KDA members have been in discussions with their Canadian counterparts. He said they have much in common.
“You can’t make Canadian whiskey anywhere else. You can’t make bourbon anywhere else in the United States. So we’re trying to figure out a way to keep each other out of the crosshairs on these because it’s not like we’re going to be moving our industries to somewhere else because we can’t – they have to be made in our own countries.
Leaders in Mexico and Canada have promised retaliatory tariffs and some in Canada have said they’ll pull American products, including Kentucky bourbon and peanut butter, off the shelves. For Gregory and others, it’s a reminder of 2018, when Canada responded to new American tariffs with a 10 percent tariff.
“Our exports to Canada were about $48 million. In 2019, they removed it in June, and our exports in Canada that year were $54 million.”
Gregory said by 2023, Kentucky distilled spirits exports to Canada had risen to $89 million. A December news release from the KDA said retaliatory tariffs from the E.U. and other countries have cost the Kentucky bourbon industry half a billion dollars in exports since 2018. Trump also announced a new 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods Saturday.
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Originally published by WEKU.
Republished with permission.
