US spirit producers celebrate end of British bourbon tariff nightmare

US spirits producers are cheering the end of the UK’s retaliatory tariffs on their bourbon

Retaliatory tariffs on over $500 million worth of US exports to the UK, including distilled spirits, various agricultural products, and consumer goods, have been lifted, the US Department of Commerce announced.

Chris Swonger, president, and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council lauded the Biden administration for making it a priority to reset the relationship with the EU and UK, two of their most important allies and trading partners.

The Biden administration also cut deals to alleviate issues stemming from a trade dispute between the US and the E.U and the UK over respective subsidies to Boeing and Airbus which had resulted in tariffs on other U.S. spirits such as rum and vodka.

In 2018, the Trump administration placed tariffs on imports of both steel and aluminum, prompting the EU, which then included the UK, to respond with retaliatory tariffs.

The tariffs on bourbon were estimated to have cost the US whiskey industry hundreds of millions of dollars.

In November, the EU and the US negotiated a deal ending this trade dispute, but since the UK was now no longer part of the EU, another agreement had to be sorted out.