American makers of distilled spirits say they've been hit hard by tariffs and want President Trump's help to boost exports.
Armstrong Williams takes on the news of the week and asks the questions you want answered. This week, we talk with FBI Director Kash Patel.FILE - A bottle of Southern Comfort whiskey is displayed on a shelf at a liquor store on January 14, 2016, in San Anselmo, California.
American makers of distilled spirits say they've been hit hard by tariffs and want President Donald Trump's help to boost exports. The group said Monday that declines were particularly steep to key export markets: the European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan.Exports to the EU fell 12%. Shipments to the U.K. dropped 29%, and exports to Japan declined 23%.Chris Swonger, the trade group’s president and CEO, said they’re “alarmed” by the decline in exports and called on Trump to usher in a “zero-for-zero trading environment.” “The American whiskey success story has been significant over the past 15 to 18 years,” Swonger said. “Yes, our industry has had tariffs imposed on us, and we've always seen a dramatic decline in exports as a result. So, the uncertainty of the trading environment has given us some heartburn."“Just 25 years ago, we had 60 distilleries in the United States,” he said. “And today, there's over 3,100, many of them small mom-and-pop craft distilleries that want to be able to export.” Swonger said American distillers “appreciate and recognize” that Trump is “pushing forward to create a thriving economy and a thriving hospitality economy.” But he said the best way to help his industry thrive is to “untangle” its burden from tariffs.The other countries hadn’t imposed retaliatory tariffs on American-made spirits. But the "environment of uncertainty and unpredictability has contributed to the lull in our ability to export," Swonger said. The administration has used tariffs to advance a number of policy priorities, including reshoring American manufacturing, rebalancing trade deficits, generating federal revenue, and slowing the flow of illegal drugs. And the tariffs have weakened the ability of American distillers to sell their products in other countries. Lowering the barrier for foreign competitors to sell in America will help American distillers, Swonger said. “We're an industry of distinctive products, where our best bet is to be able to compete with sip and taste,” he said. “And that is what has enabled American whiskey to be appreciated and enjoyed in markets like the EU and the U.K.”
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