WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump threatens more new tariffs next week, representatives of the alcohol industry are urging him in a petition campaign to exempt wine and liquor from the levies.

What You Need To Know

  • As President Donald Trump threatens more new tariffs next week, representatives of the alcohol industry are urging him to exempt wine and liquor from the levies

  • The president has threatened to slap 200% tariffs on European alcohol, if the EU doesn’t scrap its plan to impose a retaliatory 50% tariff on American whiskeys

  • Trade reps from Mexico, the European Union and the U.S. spoke to members of the liquor industry in Washington Friday 

  • President Trump has said tariffs are “efficient” and “bring fairness"

The president has threatened to slap 200% tariffs on European alcohol, if the European Union (EU) doesn’t scrap its plan to impose a retaliatory 50% tariff on American whiskeys, like bourbon.

“Tariffs are high on everybody’s minds, and we’re a unique industry with distinctive products where the industry is so intertwined together,” said Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.

Trade reps from Mexico, the EU and the U.S. spoke to members of the liquor industry in Washington Friday about tariffs and the uncertainty of the next few weeks.

Peter Young, Deputy Head of the Trade and Agriculture Section at the European Union Delegation to the U.S., said tariffs are a “bad idea.”

“Tariffs basically impose a cost on economic operators that is passed down the line," he said. "Either it's borne by the economic operators themselves or passed to the consumer."

The EU’s tariff on American whiskeys, which is suspended until the middle of next month, is tied to an unrelated steel and aluminum dispute dating back to the first Trump administration.

Jason Hafemeister, Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, said the U.S. would like to see more customers overseas for American products.

“The hope is that this trade conversation ends quickly and that other countries see the light, see the need to make the reforms that we're asking them to do, and we come back stronger than ever with reduced barriers to U.S. products overseas and more opportunities for our producers,” he said.  

President Trump has said tariffs are “efficient” and “bring fairness.”

Several Kentucky lawmakers, including Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., have all spoken out against tariffs in recent days, saying they do more harm to trade and business than good.

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