Trump has whiskey on the rocks

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 01.08.26

Second rounds can be deadly. Trump’s second trade war has once again slipped American whiskey producers a “Mickey Finn.”

Exports of American distilled spirits tripled under Bush and Obama, as Canadians and Europeans developed a seemingly unquenchable thirst for American bourbon. When Trump threatened to impose tariffs in 2018, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) warned that he would start a trade war with their overseas customers, whose retaliatory tariffs would “significantly threaten” an industry responsible for 17,500 jobs and an $800 million annual payroll in Kentucky alone.

Trump ignored the warning. His first-term tariffs poured 33% of America’s European whiskey exports down the drain. After Biden ended Trump’s trade war, American exports surged to $2.4 billion in 2024, a record high. But when Trump launched his second trade war in April 2025, sales tanked again: exports plunged 23% to Japan, 29% to the UK, and a disastrous 85% to Canada, our second-largest market.

Kentucky craft distiller Tom Bard said, “We expanded our distillery to take advantage of global demand for our products. We’re small-business Americans. It would be nice to not have these roadblocks.” Brough Brothers Bourbon in Kentucky canceled plans for a new distillery. “We’re collateral damage,” said CEO Victor Yarbrough. Even Jim Beam, America’s largest bourbon producer, was forced to halt production at its main plant for at least a year as foreign demand dried up.

KDA called Trump’s second trade war “déjà vu.” Chris Swonger, president of the Distilled Spirits Council, said, “After celebrating a record year for U.S. spirits exports in 2024, trade tensions are having an immediate and adverse effect.” He added, “We urge the President to help facilitate a lasting return to tariff-free trade. We want toasts not tariffs.”

Trump’s first trade war left a bitter taste in American mouths. His second one hasn’t mellowed with age.

Michael Maisel

Sunset Beach