USA: US Distilled Spirits Council reports decline in exports volume by 9% in the three months to the end of June

The trade association for the spirits industry in the US has warned that the current weakness in exports for its members risks putting the country’s distillers under “mounting pressure and financial strain”.

In its ‘Mid-Year Report’ on spirits shipments, published on October 6, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (Discus) said that exports in value terms fell by 9% in the three months to the end of June. The slide was most keenly observed in Canada, where domestic boycotts of US alcohol prompted an 85% plunge in US spirits exports to the country, to $9.6m.

Declines were also recorded in the EU in Q2 – down 12% to $290.3m – the UK (-29%, $26.9m) and Japan (-23%, $21.4m).

While figures for the first three months of 2025 were not immediately available, US spirits exports in the full year last year were up 10.8% on 2023, totalling $2.46bn.

Blaming the “adverse impact of ongoing trade tensions” for the quarterly decline, Discus suggested that the foreign consumer’s approach to spirits from the US “may reflect a broader sentiment that US-imposed tariffs are unfair, prompting consumers to support their domestic industries or seek non-US products in response”.

The trade association painted a particularly bleak outlook for American whiskey, which is facing “stagnating domestic sales and record-high inventory levels”.

“Since 2012, American whiskey inventories have tripled, reaching nearly 1.5bn proof gallons by the end of 2024,” Discus noted. “With domestic demand slowing, exports represent the most viable path to reducing excess inventory and ensuring the sustainability of American whiskey makers.

“If trade-related disruptions continue to erode export volumes, US distillers could face mounting pressure and financial strain.”