Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) president and CEO Chris Swonger testified before the Section 301 Committee today, calling for distilled spirits to be exempted from current and future tariffs. Swonger told the interagency body, which operates under the Office of the United States Trade Representative, that exemptions are critical to protecting U.S. jobs, the hospitality sector and American export growth.
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READ THE STORYThe testimony came as part of a broader Section 301 investigation into trade deficits. Swonger opened by expressing support for President Trump’s goal to increase U.S. manufacturing and exports.
He applauded the administration’s efforts to reduce tariffs on U.S. spirits in markets including India, Argentina, Cambodia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Switzerland and Taiwan. Swonger also praised the recent decision to lift the 10% tariff on whiskeys from the UK, including scotch whisky.
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“America’s spirits industry is a powerful economic engine,” said Swonger, noting the sector generates more than $250 billion in economic activity, supports approximately 1.7 million U.S. jobs and sources more than 2.7 billion pounds of grain from American farmers. “But the U.S. spirits and hospitality sectors are facing significant economic headwinds. A slowdown in the spirits market, combined with ongoing trade frictions, has started to result in year-over-year job losses at U.S. distilleries.”
Swonger shared statistics underscoring the challenges. Domestic spirits sales declined 2.2% in 2025, the first decline in decades. Exports fell nearly 4%, and U.S. distilleries lost 3.5% of their workforce—nearly 1,000 jobs—from September 2024 to September 2025.
“In this environment, tariffs on imported spirits place additional strain on the sector,” said Swonger. “Alcohol sales are particularly consequential for restaurant profitability, accounting for 21% of the total revenue for full-service restaurants.”
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He warned that tariffs are likely to trigger retaliation that disproportionately harms American distillers. When the European Union imposed retaliatory tariffs on American whiskey from 2018 to 2021, U.S. exports fell 20% before rebounding 60% after the tariffs were suspended. Retaliatory bans in Canada led to a 63% decline in U.S. spirits exports to that market in 2025.
“Even the threat of tariffs creates uncertainty, negatively impacting exports,” Swonger said.
He highlighted that certain spirits —including scotch whisky, cognac, Irish whiskey and tequila—are geographically distinctive products that cannot be produced in the United States. In return, the U.S. has secured recognition of Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey as distinctive products in 45 countries.
Swonger urged the administration to exempt spirits from tariffs, preserve open markets such as the EU and UK, and pursue new trade agreements in priority export markets. “These steps will support the administration’s goals of increasing U.S. exports and creating good-paying American jobs across the hospitality sector,” he said.
