WASHINGTON — For the last six months, America’s liquor industry had been bracing for a Feb. 5 deadline, when the European Union was set to end a six-month suspension of a 30% retaliatory tariff on American alcohol products.
The EU has now extended the suspension another six months until August, a deputy chief spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed Thursday.
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States provided an economic briefing Thursday, showing how the industry continues to feel the impacts of President Donald Trump’s trade war and changes in consumer sentiment.
Last year, government-run liquor stores in Canada pulled American alcohol from shelves in retaliation against U.S. tariffs.
Two provinces have since replaced them.
“Looking specifically at Canada and some more recent data that we saw on Canada, it showed a 73% year-over-year decline between March and October,” said Christine LoCascio, DISCUS’ chief of policy, strategy and membership. “U.S. spirits exports dropped sharply after the provincial bans were imposed early last spring. In October, it has ticked back up again, likely due to the fact that Alberta and Saskatchewan have restored products to their retail shelves, which we are certainly grateful for.”
Meanwhile, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association said in a new report that bourbon is now a $10.6 billion industry but is facing “mounting headwinds.”
“Foreign demand, a major driver of past expansion and success, has been curtailed by retaliatory tariffs and other trade policy countermeasures imposed in 2018 and 2025,” the report said. “Domestically, the market is shifting due to evolving consumer tastes, changes in generational drinking habits, and new competition for leisure dollars.”
