Latest news with #ChrisSwonger
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US spirits exports hit a record high in 2024. Tariffs could destroy that
Exports of American-made spirits hit a record high last year. However, a hangover is about to hit the industry as tariffs threaten to stunt growth, a leading industry group warned. Exports hit a record $2.4 billion in 2024, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). In a report released Thursday, the trade group said that last year's growth is thanks to a rebuilt trading relationship between the US and the European Union. Exports to the EU jumped 39% in 2024 compared to a year prior — a gain put in peril by President Donald Trump's trade war. 'Unfortunately, ongoing trade disputes unrelated to our sector have caused uncertainty, keeping many US distillers on the sidelines and curtailing sales growth,' said DISCUS President and CEO Chris Swonger in a release. American-made whiskey in particular stands in the crosshairs of the trade dispute. The EU had removed tariffs on US whiskey in 2022. Since then, exports from the US to the EU have jumped nearly 60% to $699 million, according to data compiled by DISCUS. The EU was set to levy new tariffs on American whiskey this month, but delayed them after Trump announced a 90-day pause on the so-called retaliatory tariffs against most other nations. Swonger called the pause a 'positive first step toward getting the US-EU spirits sectors back to zero-for-zero tariffs and untangling spirits from these trade disputes.' EU tariffs would be a major blow for American distillers and spirits makers. The bloc is the largest export market for US-made spirits, accounting for about half of all US spirits exports, worth $1.2 billion last year, DISCUS said. But it's not just the EU. Canada is the second-largest recipient of US-made spirits, totaling $221 million last year. Canada's 25% retaliatory tariff on all US spirits that began last month, and the subsequent removal of many American brands from Canadian liquor stores, is causing uncertainty in this year's outlook with the country, DISCUS said. Tariffs aren't the only problem major spirits makers are dealing with. A decrease in demand following a pandemic-induced boom caused US exports of spirits to the rest of the world to drop by nearly 10%, DISCUS said. That has resulted in layoffs at major distillers, such as at Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel's parent company Brown-Forman, and bankruptcies, including Westward Whiskey, a Diageo-backed distillery based in Oregon. Despite the recent weakness, sales of US spirits have generally grown over the past two-and-a-half decades. Exports have jumped to $2.4 billion in 2024 from $478 million in 2000. In its report, DISCUS attributed this jump in part to the US spirits sector 'having a fair and reciprocal playing field with 51 countries that have provided tariff-free access for US spirits,' including the EU, Canada and Mexico.
CNN
24-04-2025
- Business
- CNN
US spirits exports hit a record high in 2024. Tariffs could destroy that
Exports of American-made spirits hit a record high last year. However, a hangover is about to hit the industry as tariffs threaten to stunt growth, a leading industry group warned. Exports hit a record $2.4 billion in 2024, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). In a report released Thursday, the trade group said that last year's growth is thanks to a rebuilt trading relationship between the US and the European Union. Exports to the EU jumped 39% in 2024 compared to a year prior — a gain put in peril by President Donald Trump's trade war. 'Unfortunately, ongoing trade disputes unrelated to our sector have caused uncertainty, keeping many US distillers on the sidelines and curtailing sales growth,' said DISCUS President and CEO Chris Swonger in a release. American-made whiskey in particular stands in the crosshairs of the trade dispute. The EU had removed tariffs on US whiskey in 2022. Since then, exports from the US to the EU have jumped nearly 60% to $699 million, according to data compiled by DISCUS. The EU was set to levy new tariffs on American whiskey this month, but delayed them after Trump announced a 90-day pause on the so-called retaliatory tariffs against most other nations. Swonger called the pause a 'positive first step toward getting the US-EU spirits sectors back to zero-for-zero tariffs and untangling spirits from these trade disputes.' EU tariffs would be a major blow for American distillers and spirits makers. The bloc is the largest export market for US-made spirits, accounting for about half of all US spirits exports, worth $1.2 billion last year, DISCUS said. But it's not just the EU. Canada is the second-largest recipient of US-made spirits, totaling $221 million last year. Canada's 25% retaliatory tariff on all US spirits that began last month, and the subsequent removal of many American brands from Canadian liquor stores, is causing uncertainty in this year's outlook with the country, DISCUS said. Tariffs aren't the only problem major spirits makers are dealing with. A decrease in demand following a pandemic-induced boom caused US exports of spirits to the rest of the world to drop by nearly 10%, DISCUS said. That has resulted in layoffs at major distillers, such as at Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel's parent company Brown-Forman, and bankruptcies, including Westward Whiskey, a Diageo-backed distillery based in Oregon. Despite the recent weakness, sales of US spirits have generally grown over the past two-and-a-half decades. Exports have jumped to $2.4 billion in 2024 from $478 million in 2000. In its report, DISCUS attributed this jump in part to the US spirits sector 'having a fair and reciprocal playing field with 51 countries that have provided tariff-free access for US spirits,' including the EU, Canada and Mexico.
CNN
24-04-2025
- Business
- CNN
US spirits exports hit a record high in 2024. Tariffs could destroy that
Exports of American-made spirits hit a record high last year. However, a hangover is about to hit the industry as tariffs threaten to stunt growth, a leading industry group warned. Exports hit a record $2.4 billion in 2024, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). In a report released Thursday, the trade group said that last year's growth is thanks to a rebuilt trading relationship between the US and the European Union. Exports to the EU jumped 39% in 2024 compared to a year prior — a gain put in peril by President Donald Trump's trade war. 'Unfortunately, ongoing trade disputes unrelated to our sector have caused uncertainty, keeping many US distillers on the sidelines and curtailing sales growth,' said DISCUS President and CEO Chris Swonger in a release. American-made whiskey in particular stands in the crosshairs of the trade dispute. The EU had removed tariffs on US whiskey in 2022. Since then, exports from the US to the EU have jumped nearly 60% to $699 million, according to data compiled by DISCUS. The EU was set to levy new tariffs on American whiskey this month, but delayed them after Trump announced a 90-day pause on the so-called retaliatory tariffs against most other nations. Swonger called the pause a 'positive first step toward getting the US-EU spirits sectors back to zero-for-zero tariffs and untangling spirits from these trade disputes.' EU tariffs would be a major blow for American distillers and spirits makers. The bloc is the largest export market for US-made spirits, accounting for about half of all US spirits exports, worth $1.2 billion last year, DISCUS said. But it's not just the EU. Canada is the second-largest recipient of US-made spirits, totaling $221 million last year. Canada's 25% retaliatory tariff on all US spirits that began last month, and the subsequent removal of many American brands from Canadian liquor stores, is causing uncertainty in this year's outlook with the country, DISCUS said. Tariffs aren't the only problem major spirits makers are dealing with. A decrease in demand following a pandemic-induced boom caused US exports of spirits to the rest of the world to drop by nearly 10%, DISCUS said. That has resulted in layoffs at major distillers, such as at Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel's parent company Brown-Forman, and bankruptcies, including Westward Whiskey, a Diageo-backed distillery based in Oregon. Despite the recent weakness, sales of US spirits have generally grown over the past two-and-a-half decades. Exports have jumped to $2.4 billion in 2024 from $478 million in 2000. In its report, DISCUS attributed this jump in part to the US spirits sector 'having a fair and reciprocal playing field with 51 countries that have provided tariff-free access for US spirits,' including the EU, Canada and Mexico.
Miami Herald
23-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Popular liquor brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The U.S. spirits industry is warning that tariffs on spirits would further curtail industry growth after a year when revenues declined. The industry maintained its market share but had a decline in revenues last year, the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. reported in its annual economic briefing in February. Spirits supplier sales declined 1.1% in 2024, totaling $37.2 billion, but volumes rose by 1.1% to 312.2 million 9-liter cases. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter The spirits industry, however, maintained its market share lead for the third straight year with a 42.2% share of the alcoholic beverage market in 2024. Related: Struggling whiskey company closes operations, no bankruptcy yet "While the spirits industry has proven to be resilient during tough times, it is certainly not immune to disruptive economic forces and marketplace challenges, and that was definitely the case in 2024," Chris Swonger, CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council, said. Despite volumes rising and the spirits industry maintaining its leading market share, several spirits companies have filed for bankruptcy over the last year. Colorado-based Lee Spirits Co., a distiller of premium gin, vodka and liqueurs, on March 8, 2024, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after shutting down all operations four days earlier, including its Colorado Springs tasting room, Brooklyn's on Boulder Street. Montana Distillery, which produces a dozen varieties of vodka, gin, and whiskey, on April 29, 2024, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy four years after relocating to another city to hopefully cut expenses and survive. Huge vodka distiller Stoli USA on Nov. 27, 2024, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after financial distress led to a default on $78 million in secured debt owed to Fifth Third Bank NA. Spirits distillers continued filing for bankruptcy in 2025, as well. Craft spirits producer Boston Harbor Distillery, which makes whiskey, rum. gin, liqueurs, and distilled beer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 31, 2025, seeking to reorganize its business. Shortly after that filing, popular high-end whiskey brand Westward Whiskey filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 6 to reorganize its business, facing significant liquidity popular craft liquor brand Dashfire LLC, which manufactures a variety of spirits, canned cocktails, coffee liquors, cocktail bitters, and THC coolers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to reorganize its business. Related: Another popular whiskey brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dashfire and two affiliates listed up to $50,000 in assets and $1 million to $10 million in debts in its Subchapter V petition, filed on April 22 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota. More bankruptcies: Popular restaurant and bar chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcyPopular athletic shoe chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcyAward-winning cosmetics brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The debtor did not list a specific reason for filing for bankruptcy in its petition. The Minneapolis-based spirits manufacturer's creditors include JGS Management LLC, which is related to its lease; the Internal Revenue Service; the Minnesota Department of Revenue; Live Oak Banking Co.; and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Dashfire was established in 2013 by founder Lee Egbert focusing on cocktail bitters, then expanding into cocktails, spirits and coffees. Its barrel-aged bitters include 21 different flavors, including its signature Dashfire Vintage Orange Bitters. The distiller's spirits include Orange Bourbon Liqueur and Elegant Elderflower Liqueur, while its ready-to-drink canned cocktails feature 12 varieties, including Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Martini, Martinez, El Presidente, White Russian, Classic Negroni, Espesso Martini, Bramble, Florida Mule, Salty Dog, and Margarita. Dashfire's coffee liquors include Rum Golden Latte, Bourbon Cold Brew Coffee, and Rum Cafe Mocha. Its THC coolers include Dark Cherry & Juniper Bramble THC Cooler and Spicy Passion Fruit Margarita THC Cooler. Related: Popular whiskey brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is your favorite European wine or beer about to get 200% more expensive? How Trump's huge new tariff threat could affect U.S. consumers and businesses.
On Thursday morning, President Trump took to Truth Social to threaten massive 200% tariffs on 'all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES.' Trump has spent the last few months teasing, delaying, imposing — and occasionally even retreating from — big taxes on friends and foes alike: a 25% tariff on certain Canadian and Mexican imports here, two rounds of 10% tariffs on Chinese goods there. But Thursday's outburst was the first time the president has floated such an enormous levy on any of America's trading partners. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. What provoked Trump's 200% threat — and what could happen to the cost of, say, a can of Heineken if he actually follows through? Here's everything you need to know. Strangely enough, it doesn't have much to do with the actual U.S.-EU spirits industry, which has been a 'model for fair and reciprocal trade' with 'zero-for-zero tariffs' since 1997, as Chris Swonger, leader of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, pointed out in a statement Thursday. Between 1997 and 2018, transatlantic sales of wine, beer and liquor shot up 450% as a result. The problem is that messing with alcohol prices tends to attract a lot of public (and therefore political) attention — making it a convenient target in any trade war. For instance, when Trump imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum during his first term, the EU retaliated, in part, with a 25% charge on American whiskey. The goal? To put pressure on then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky (aka the home of American bourbon). The U.S. hit back with 25% tariffs on European liquors and wines. The Europeans suspended their whiskey tariffs under the Biden administration, but they never took them off the table entirely. As long as Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs didn't return, the status quo would continue. But if Trump were to bring his tariffs back, the EU had already announced it would resume taxing U.S. whiskey on March 31, 2025 — at 50%, double the previous rate. The point was to avoid another trade war. Which brings us to Trump 2.0. On Wednesday, Trump imposed sweeping 25% tariffs on every country that sells steel and aluminum to the U.S. — including many European nations. The EU responded as promised: by moving forward with plans to tax U.S. whiskey at 50% as part of a $28 billion package of retaliatory tariffs targeted at states with strong Trump support. As predictable as this tit-for-tat might have been, Trump was apparently peeved. 'The president was totally annoyed that the Europeans did this,' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg Television. 'Why are Europeans picking on Kentucky bourbon? ... It's disrespectful.' 'Nasty,' Trump added on Truth Social. He then went on to call the European Union 'one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World,' claiming it was 'formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States.' A 200% tariff on European alcohol, he added, 'will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.' Trump has long insisted that tariffs will level the proverbial playing field by incentivizing companies to retain American workers and ramp up U.S. manufacturing — all while funneling 'trillions' of dollars in new revenue to the federal government. 'Tariffs are gonna make us rich as hell,' he said in January. 'They're gonna bring our country's businesses back that left us.' Yet nearly all economists disagree with Trump's take, noting that a tariff is actually an import tax paid by the company doing the importing — not by the foreign country (or foreign business) sending its goods to the U.S. The same experts have found that most importers simply pass the added cost of tariffs on to U.S. consumers by jacking up their prices. Then other countries retaliate with tariffs of their own, risking a global trade war and recession. What does this mean in the alcohol world? A lose-lose situation. During Trump's last trade war over booze, from 2018 to 2021, American whiskey exports to the EU fell 20 percent; EU liquor and wine exports plummeted as well. It simply became too expensive for some businesses to trade in those products — on both sides of the pond. According to the New York Times, it was a 'setback' that 'damaged the industry for years' — while 'the threat of tariffs has continued to hamper its expansion.' And that was just from 25% tariffs. Levies as high as 200% would be a whole different story. It's possible that Trump's 200% European booze tariff will never become a reality. The European trade commissioner reportedly reached out to his American counterparts after the EU's announcements on Wednesday — and calls were 'being prepared.' But unless Trump backs down from his steel and aluminum tariffs, the EU is unlikely to retreat from its whiskey tariffs — meaning the president will be forced to decide whether or not to follow through on Thursday's threat and escalate the transatlantic alcohol wars to a previously unthinkable level. 'If you make him unhappy, he responds unhappy,' Lutnick said Thursday, referring to Trump. A 200% tax on beverages such as Veuve Clicquot champagne, Pilsner Urquell beer and Domaine de Chevalier bordeaux would be prohibitive for any U.S. company that has built its business around importing them, or for any U.S. retailer — such as a liquor store, bar or restaurant — that has built its business around carrying them. To avoid hemorrhaging money, the choice would be either to stop offering those products altogether or to charge customers roughly twice as much. It's possible, as Trump suggested on Truth Social, that equivalent U.S. beverages could fill the gap, at least somewhat. (Trump's son Eric owns Trump Winery, which is based in Virginia.) But with a smaller market abroad and less foreign competition at home — Trump has also threatened Mexican tequila and Canadian whisky — domestic producers might choose to raise their prices too. And ultimately, nothing would stop the EU from hitting U.S. exporters with even bigger tariffs of its own. 'We urge President Trump to secure a spirits agreement with the EU to get us back to zero-for-zero tariffs, which will create US jobs and increase manufacturing and exports for the American hospitality sector,' Swonger, the Distilled Spirits Council leader, said in his statement. 'We want toasts not tariffs.'
