Trump's tariff threats have left U.S. bourbon distillers in limbo

With a trade war brewing between the United States, Canada, and the European Union, bourbon distillers worry they could soon be in trouble. - REUTERS

Transcript

00:00With American Whiskey now a tariff target, many U.S. bourbon distilleries are left wondering

00:06if they can afford to expand internationally.

00:09VICTOR YARBRO, Co-Founder, Bro Brothers Distillery, Kentucky

00:10The whole Canadian growth strategy is now on pause.

00:13Victor Yarbro is the co-founder of Bro Brothers Distillery, Kentucky's first Black-owned distillery.

00:20It operates in Louisville, known to many as Bourbon City or the Wall Street of Whiskey,

00:26but now plans for an expansion beyond Bourbon City into Canada have been put on hold.

00:33That's because many liquor stores and bars in Canada have pulled American Whiskey off

00:38the shelves entirely in support of their country amid President Donald Trump's ongoing threat

00:43of tariffs.

00:44VICTOR YARBRO, Co-Founder, Bro Brothers Distillery, Kentucky

00:45Part of the expansion is being able to go into the Canadian market, which is a huge

00:48market.

00:49You know, there are neighbors, there are brothers, and this is something that we've kind of been

00:53working on behind the scenes, and all of a sudden, this hard work that we've had has

00:58now been impacted.

00:59And U.S. distilleries are reeling after the European Union proposed a 50 percent tariff

01:05on American Whiskey in retaliation of Trump's 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

01:14For Judy Hollis-Jones, co-founder of Louisville's Buzzard's Roost Whiskey, introducing their

01:19product to Europe doesn't make practical sense.

01:22We were looking at next year, growing in Europe, you know, having lived in England, I understand

01:30they love scotch.

01:31They're beginning to talk about their own English Whiskey.

01:36So with these tariffs, I don't think they're going to be interested in bourbon.

01:40U.S. distillery owners are watching closely as U.S. tariffs and counter tariffs are still

01:46being poured out.