USA: Suntory to consider price increases for its whisky in the US

Suntory Holdings will consider price increases in line with consumer sentiment for ultra-premium whisky it exports to the U.S., after the two countries struck a trade deal that set tariffs on imported Japanese goods at 15%, The Japan Times reported on July 29.

"We have to learn and read the sentiment in the United States,” Co-Chairman and CEO Takeshi Niinami said on Tuesday.

The beverage giant could still consider raising U.S. prices for premium whisky lines, Niinami said. That’s despite Suntory’s feeling — like many other Japanese firms — that the tariff is a "relief” and that it can absorb some of the added costs, he said.

Niinami said the company is "overreliant on the U.S. and Japan” and has realized the importance of emerging markets including China, Southeast Asian nations and India. Suntory said in April that it could shift products to its home market and other countries in Asia if tariffs were to make its whisky prohibitively pricey in America.

The trade pact reached earlier this month will impose levies on imports including automobiles from Japan, a key U.S. ally, while creating a $550 billion fund to make investments in America.