The European Union tariffs that affect American spirits such as Bourbon whiskey will be “devastating” for the liquor industry, commercial associations on Wednesday said on Wednesday both sides of the Atlantic.
The European Commission said Wednesday that it will impose tariffs on US products worth $ 28,310 million from next month, intensifying a global commercial war in response to US tariffs on steel and aluminum.
The measure will relive the suspended tariffs on the Bourbon whiskey and will double the 50%rate, said Ulrich Adam, general director of Trade Body Spiritseurope, which represents the main producers of spirits in the United States and Europe as a diageo and the manufacturer of Jack Daniel’s, Brown-Forman. You could also see the imposition of new tariffs on a series of other products, with tequila and gin in the list of possible objectives.
This would have “devastating consequences” for spirits of spirits on both sides of the Atlantic, said Spiritseurope in a statement, noting that EU companies that produce spirits in the United States could be affected.
The intensification of the World Trade War occurs at a time when the spirits of spirits faces a sharp fall in sales after a boom after the covid and the high levies imposed by China to the European brandy, which especially affect the Coñac.
“The market is very weak,” said Adam, from Spiritseurope, pointing out high inflation, weak economies and homes to the limit. “It’s another very hard blow.”
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EU tariffs will be ‘devastating’ for the spirits of spirits, the industry warns
Any attempt on the part of the producers to increase prices to compensate for tariffs would probably lead to market share losses, since the industry is very competitive and sensitive to prices, he continued.
American spirits of spirits are investing strongly in Europe, which puts at risk the jobs, added the Spiritseurope statement.
The United States distilled liquor council said that the “weakening tariffs” of the largest American whiskey export market will further reduce growth and affect the distillmen and farmers throughout the United States.
American whiskey exports to the EU increased 60% in the last three years to 699 million dollars in 2024, Discus continued, adding that previous tariffs on the Bourbon imposed in 2018 caused a 20% decrease.
Lawson Whiting, executive president of the manufacturer of Jack Daniel’s, Brown-Forman, said at the UBS consumer and retail conference in New York who had been trying to prepare for tariffs.
“We have done some things to try to prepare, but it is a difficult place,” he said, added that he had hope that the two parties could solve the dispute before the tariffs enter into force.
With Reuters information.
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