Thomson Reuters
As the holiday season looms, US liquor groups are begging Trump to kill the tariffs they say could ruin their most lucrative stretch of the year.
A group of 57 associations and guilds called the Toasts not Tariffs Coalition, said in a Wednesday letter to the White House that tariffs could result in a $2 billion sales loss in the holidays.
“We reiterate our urgent request that the U.S. and EU come to an agreement to secure fair and reciprocal trade on spirits and wine,” the group wrote in the letter.
“As we approach the critical holiday season, a period that is essential to the success of our industries, we implore you to secure this important deal for the U.S. as soon as possible,” it added.
The letter comes as Trump’s new tariffs went into effect at midnight on Thursday, with the European Union being slammed with a 15% tariff rate on most goods. However, the EU said on Tuesday said it would pause retaliatory tariffs for six months.
Other countries, such as Switzerland and India, were hit much harder, with tariff rates of 39% and 50%, respectively. India’s tariffs are set to go into effect later in August.
In March, Trump also threatened to impose a 200% tariff on wine and other alcohol from the EU.
The coalition said it estimated that a 15% tariff on EU wine and spirits could result in more than 25,000 American job losses and nearly $2 billion in lost sales. Per data from the US Distilled Spirits Council, the US exported $2.4 billion worth of spirits in 2024.
Groups in the Toasts not Tariffs coalition represent US liquor heavyweights like Beam Suntory, the parent of Jim Beam, and Jack Daniel’s owner Brown-Forman. The coalition also includes non-liquor bodies like the National Retail Federation and the National Restaurant Association.
The Wednesday letter was the group’s second appeal to the White House. It sent a similar letter in January, urging Trump to exclude wine and spirits from his coming tariffs and convince the US’s trading partners not to apply retaliatory tariffs on their products.
Kentucky’s bourbon makers also appealed to the White House to ease up on tariffs after Canada’s boycott of US alcohol in March.
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association said in a March statement on X that retaliatory tariffs would have “far-reaching consequences across Kentucky, home to 95% of the world’s bourbon.”
Representatives for Trump and the Distilled Spirits Council did not respond to requests for comment from BI.
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