President Donald Trump’s signature trade policy is wreaking havoc on the economy of one of the reddest states in the country, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In a Friday editorial, the Journal argued that the recent decision by the Jim Beam distillery to halt production at its Claremont, Kentucky facility for all of 2026 can be chalked up to Trump’s tariffs. While the distillery didn’t outright blame tariffs for its decision, the Journal pointed out that Canada has continued to hold off on its importing of Kentucky bourbon, which has dealt a significant blow to the Bluegrass State’s signature export.
“After Mr. Trump picked a tariff fight with Canada, the country responded by pulling U.S. spirits from its shelves. The bilateral relationship has recovered some, but exports didn’t,” the editorial read.
The Journal chronicled how Canada eventually rolled back its retaliatory tariffs on imported Kentucky bourbon after Trump softened his tariffs on the United States’ northern neighbor and key trade partner. However, the uncertainty from the episode has some whiskey distillers like Jim Beam – which makes brands like Knob Creek and Basil Hayden in addition to its namesake spirit — more cautious about its long-term business plans. This is particularly true in the bourbon industry, which depends heavily on long-term plans given that bourbon requires multiple years of aging in barrels before hitting shelves.
“Much of the expansion over the last decade has been geared towards global growth,” said Kentucky Distillers Association president Eric Gregory in October. “Long-term planning for a product that won’t be ready for years is already tough enough. We need the certainty of tariff-free trade for America’s only native spirit to flourish.”
The impact of Trump’s tariffs on Kentucky’s bourbon industry has not gone unnoticed by its Republican leaders. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who led the Senate Republican Conference for nearly two decades, wrote an op-ed in the Louisville Courier-Journal (Kentucky’s flagship newspaper) sharply criticizing Trump’s tariffs and predicting they would have a detrimental impact on the commonwealth’s bourbon industry.
The editorial acknowledged that while “changing consumer preferences” can also influence demand, the spirits industry is used to ups and downs. However, the Journal pointed the finger at Trump for giving distilleries one more headache to consider.
“The difference now is that it must also manage around Mr. Trump’s tariffs and their consequences,” the editorial read. “This is harm inflicted on American workers by their own government.”
Click here to read the Journal’s full editorial (subscription required).
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