WASHINGTON — In President Donald Trump’s first term, he placed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, citing national security concerns.

The European Union responded with a 25% retaliatory tariff on American whiskeys, such as bourbon.

What You Need To Know

  • President Donald Trump followed through Monday on his pledge to impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports

  • Supporters of Kentucky bourbon said the industry suffered when the European Union retaliated against steel and aluminum tariffs from the president’s first term with a 25% tariff on American whiskeys

  • The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said the tariff caused American whiskey exports to the EU to plunge 20%-- from $552 million in 2018 to about $440 million in 2021

  • Before the president announced new actions Monday on tariffs, the EU was already set to reimpose its suspended retaliatory tariff at 50% if the EU and U.S. do not reach an agreement in the steel and aluminum dispute by the end of March

The EU is the largest export market for American whiskeys, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).

The council said the retaliatory tariff caused whiskey exports to the EU to plunge 20% — from $552 million in 2018 to about $440 million in 2021. 

After the U.S. and EU agreed to suspend the EU’s tariff, exports rebounded to $705 million in 2023, according to DISCUS. But the EU is set to reimpose its tariff at 50% if the EU and U.S. don’t reach an agreement in the steel and aluminum dispute by the end of March.  

This week, Trump announced all steel and aluminum imports will be facing 25% tariffs.

DISCUS said it is concerned about retaliatory measures and urging both sides to swiftly find a resolution.  

“Our great American Whiskey industry is at stake,” said Chris Swonger, DISCUS president and CEO, in a statement. “A 50% tariff on America's native spirit will have a catastrophic outcome for the 3,000 small distilleries across the United States. The U.S. and EU spirits sectors have fair and reciprocal trade and should be excluded from any retaliatory measures.”

Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, said a new round of steel and aluminum tariffs would harm Kentucky and the bourbon industry.

“This is Groundhog Day,” McGarvey said Monday afternoon. “We saw him do this when he was first president and we saw what happened. We lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the bourbon industry in Kentucky, and that’s felt by everybody."

"It’s felt from the farmers who put the corn in the ground to the coopers who put the bourbon in the barrel to the people on the line who put it in the bottle, to the truck drivers who drive it to the store. This ends up being a tax on Americans and especially a tax on Kentuckians.”

It’s estimated Kentucky produces 95% of the world’s bourbon, an industry that employs more than 23,000 people and generates $9 billion of economic output.

Related Stories